#and madame pomphrey is so over it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yertle-the-turtle6678 · 7 months ago

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IM BACK AND I HAVE PERCIVER HEAD CANONS TO SHARE!!!

They meet in first year on the Hogwarts express. Percy's holding a giant book on third year divination. While this makes him a less attractive friend in the eyes of others', it's what brings Oliver Wood to the same train car as him. They introduce themselves and shake hands.

In second year, Oliver makes the Quidditch team as their keeper. Percy still spends the majority of his time indoors, but he goes to Ollie's practices and games every once in a while. After one specific game, Oliver comes back to the dorm with his breath cut short and with tears in his eyes. He stops breathing and the world goes spinning between each of his eyes; a panic attack, madame Pomphrey later describes it. The crowd triggered it.

Percy comforts him, sits on the same floor as him, rubbing the boy's back, repeating reassurance: "you're safe here,"

"You were good out there, really."

"I'll sit with you for as long as it takes."

Oliver comes to with his head on Percy's shoulder.

In third year, Percy goes to every practice and every game. He rubs Oliver's back when he returns to the dorm. When he loses for the first time, Percy has to chase him to stop him from running away, never to be found again.

"Hey, listen," Percy says, out of breath from the running. He doesn't understand how Oliver's barely breaking a sweat. "Tell me, okay? What went wrong out there?"

He gives Oliver a minute to pause and think.

Oliver gathers his thoughts and his breath. The sweat dripping down his neck fuels him, gives him energy. It clouds his head. He needs to calm down.

"I slipped on my broom." He says finally. "I wasn't planted on it properly."

"Good. What are you gonna do to fix it?" Percy replies, breathing better.

"I'll improve my grip."

"Good."

The two of them stand there, just breathing.

"Thanks."

In fourth year, they have the Yule Ball. Both of them are fifteen. Their year mates are out and about minging, asking each other out. The two of them stay where they are. They don't speak of the ball.

They go to the dance together, as friends of course. Percy keeps adjusting the collar to his hand-me-down dress robes. Oliver assures him that his attire is charming.

He sighs.

"If you had to wear these, I guarantee you'd understand me." Percy says. Over the summer his voice has changed. It's deeper and richer. Oliver loves it. Wishes he could taste it. Wishes these thoughts would go away. He grins and laughs Percy off.

When it's time to dance, they run away to a balcony that Percy didn't even know existed. They laugh and chat, making jokes at the dancers' expenses. Percy's had a bit to drink, (had he known the punch was alcoholic, he wouldn't have gone near it) and his face is flushed deep red.

"AND- and then when the-" he howls laughter. Oliver has to stop him from falling over himself.

Oliver thinks... He can't think at all. Suddenly. The two of them are so close together. He's got his arm around Percy's back and Percy's leaning against him, hands on Oliver's chest, still laughing. When he stops and catches his breath, though, the two of them seem to freeze. Oliver's heart skips a beat when he can physically feel Percy tensing up.

He kisses him.

Very awkwardly.

He made little action with his lips, just gently brushing his against the other boy's. The boy in question grins. Now it's Oliver's turn to flush deep red.

"ha-HA! No, wait, no, Oliver, wait."

Percy pulls Oliver back towards him by the arm. They're tangled with each other again, Oliver giving in to the urge to smile, just a bit, even after being embarrassed.

They kiss. Properly this time. It's the best thing Oliver's felt in his life. When they pull away, he whispers,

"Are you my boyfriend now?"

Percy smiles.

"Yes."

In fifth year, nightmares attack. O.W.Ls. Percy never sleeps anymore.

Oliver has to drag him away from his work table and force him onto his bed. When that bed later becomes repurposed for more studies, Oliver forces him onto his own bed. They sleep together and their dorm mates start getting suspicious.

Oliver sleeps in pajama bottoms and nothing else. Percy sleeps in a sweater and boxers. They spoon and Oliver rests his arm in front of Percy's only exit to stop him from crawling out of bed to study. Little does he know, Percy would never dare leave.

During the waking hours, Oliver drags Percy to other important places, such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The outdoors. Interaction with other human beings. It's a tough life out here for him.

When the exams finally start approaching, they do not stop making out. It's the only thing that gets Percy's mind off things. Only because there's nothing more distracting than Oliver's mouth.

To his own surprise and nobody else's, Percy passes his O.W.Ls with flying colours. Oliver passes alright despite not studying.

In sixth year it's the same for their N.E.W.Ts.

Something changes in the relationship between Percy and the rest of the student body, especially the girls. Oliver knows he's gotten taller. And his freckles have cleared enough for his gorgeous face to be visible. His voice is still as beautiful as it was in fourth year. He's started rolling up the sleeves of his sweaters, and the halls seem to swoon rapidly when they spot his forearms. Oliver always knew that Percy could have this power over people; he'd been subject to it himself. But it annoys him. And what's even worse is that Percy doesnt seem to notice when he's being flirted with.

He gets into the habit of writing on Oliver with pens, a strange Muggle device that's actually pretty nifty. Some mornings, Oliver wakes up with markings he doesn't even remember. Percy writes on his chest a lot. Draws on his collarbone. The most repeated word is Percy's name.

Oliver looks in the mirror one day, at his shirtless body.

PROPERTY OF PERCIVAL IGNATIUS WEASLEY

It says this all over his torso.

He grins. No one's stealing Percy from him anytime soon.

They pass their N.E.W.Ts.

The Summer Before Seventh Year

France is a gorgeous place, Oliver realises. Filled with gorgeous girls, too. He's lounging at the beach when one of them asks him out. He's put on the spot and exposed, wearing nothing but his swimming shorts and sunglasses. He fumbles over his words.

"Err, I mean, no..." The girl frowns. She has gorgeous eyes. "I mean, yes, sure. Is Friday at 7 PM okay with you?"

It doesn't even occur to him that she's a Muggle.

Immediately after he's uttered these words, he regrets it. But he can't stand her up. And she's already walking away. Merlin, Percy's gonna kill him.

It's just one date and Oliver doesn't even enjoy. They don't touch each other at all; they don't even hold hands. But Oliver knows what he's done, and he knows what he has to do.

He writes a letter.

I love you. I'm sorry. I couldn't live with myself if I kept it secret.

He sends it away with his black owl.

At the Burrow, Percy receives two letters back to back on his birthday. The first is from Hogwarts, confirmation that he's this year's Head Boy. He jumps around the kitchen, all dignity forgotten, and hugs his mother with an enormous grin on his face.

The second is from Oliver.

How quickly Percy's face turns sour. Mrs Weasley asks if he's okay.

Tears sting his eyes. Outside, he tells his mother everything.

One day before the start of the school year, the Weasley's are staying at the Leakey Cauldron overnight. Percy hears pebbles being thrown at his window and goes to see who it is.

Oliver Wood. Merlin.

Percy goes downstairs, striding towards his partner. Punches him in the face and immediately feels bad, but doesn't let that stop him. His voice is somewhere between a whisper and a yell and a sob,

"How could you?"

"I'm so sorry, Percy."

"Why did you do it?"

"We didn't do anything. Didn't touch her. I remember what you wrote on me."

Percy breathes in deep.

"I wasn't talking about just your body, Oliver. I was talking about you. All of you." He exhales, trying to hold himself together.

"I wouldn't think twice about rejecting some Muggle girl for you. You think I didn't notice when the whole female population at school suddenly wanted to date me? Just because of my body? I resisted them for you, Oliver. Because I love you. Why couldn't you do that for me?"

"I don't know. I'm so, so sorry."

They decide to take a break from their relationship. When they start attending school again, their dorm mates wonder why they've stopped sleeping together.

#perciver #percy weasley #oliver wood #hp #<3 #this turned very angsty indeed #wrote this from 1AM to 2AM on low battery because it needed to be written #youre welcome

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iifishizzleii · 1 year ago

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Touchy Ronald Weasely

Ron, who grew up the ‘cuddle bug’ of the family, was an incredibly tactile fellow. He was always touching someone, someway, somehow. Whether it was by a hand on their back, an elbow on their shoulder, a hand ruffling their hair.

Harry wasn't used to it, at first. It wasn't a surprise, considering how he was raised by the Dursleys. So, it takes him by surprise just how tactile his new friend is.

When Harry’s unpacking his trunk, Ron sweeps by and claps his hands on the boy’s shoulders before squeezing them. Ron hooks an arm around his shoulders with an easygoing smile as they walk to their next destination. He messes with Harry’s hair even more so when the boy first wakes up and Ron is passing his head.

Ron fixes his glasses from across the damn table during supper.

But, to Harry’s surprise, he isn't put off by it. He doesn't jump like how he used to when Uncle Vernon or Dudley suddenly slammed their hammers of a hand down on him. He doesn't flinch or pull away.

It's probably because Ron has ‘comfort’ hands. Hands that carry a reassuring weight, warm and friendly.

And Harry isn't the only one who notices this.

Once, when Hermione and Ron were going to visit Harry, who’d landed himself in Madam Pomphrey’s care after a Quidditch game, she’d nearly walked right off a moving staircase.

But, Ron had snagged her back before it was too late. He wasn’t even harsh with it, quickly grabbing Hermione by the sleeve of her robe and tugging her back. He then fixed her uniform, deftly smoothing it back in place with an eye roll.

Ron only scolded her, commenting something about, “The brightest of the century witch being killed by a staircase,” although Hermione doesn't remember. Her heart was beating too quickly in her chest, cheeks burning.

She's pretty sure that's where it all began.

And when they're dating, and Hermione shows him her O.W.L’s (which she passed with flying colors), Ron is reaching down to cup her face. Hermione stands there with a bashful smile, giggling as he peppers her face in kisses and praises.

Ron is always touching her when they date. He leans on her shoulder, plays with her hair while she studies, and fiddles with the fingers of her free hand as she uses the other to flip through the book she reads.

Hermione isn't used to having a friend (much less boyfriend) be so touchy-feely, but with Ron, it just feels right. So, Hermione welcomes the change eagerly.

Bonus:

And then, both Hermione and Harry find out that Ron is a little spoon.

It's their eighth year, months after the war between Hogwarts and Voldemort. None of them can stand to be apart from each other— especially Ron, who’d been grieving the lost of his brother.

So, one night, on a night when he knows this is something all of them need, Ron drags the two to the Gryffindor Common Room. And then, he's piling them together under quilts handmade by Molly, tucked near a dimly lit candle.

If Ron sticks himself between them, neither Harry nor Hermione comments on it. They simply wrap their arms around their friend, eyes slowly closing as they tangle up under the blankets.

It's how the First Years find them hours later, the trio a sleeping mess of limbs, a blanket strewn to the side, Harry’s nose buried in Ron’s shoulderblade, a leg tossed over him, while Hermione’s face is pressed into Ron’s chest, a knee resting against Harry’s thigh.

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iwasabadgirlididsomebadthings · 8 months ago

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CHAPTER 24 OF COIL SPOILERS ALSO HELP IM CONFUSED

first of I only made this account Because of MaM also finale warning SPOILERS BELOW!!

IS POPPY DEAD PLZ I DONT KNOW

BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE BASILISK IN THE EYES WITHOUT GLASS OR SOMETHING BETWEEN YOU AND IT YOU DIE

And in the chapter Dazai specifically says that he needs to kill Pomfrey AND just after Dazai leaves the great hall he is all like “ gosh darn it well I guess I better get to setting up a murder now”

so is she dead well I thought she was but if he was just gonna kill her why did he ask about the potions? And if was just gonna petrify her and not kill her why was he all like “this is the last time that I’m gonna talk to you” cause he DEFINITELY KNOWS Snape can brew the potion thus un-petrify her so then he would have to also petrify or kill snape (which he kinda has to already cause he knows too much)

But isn’t that just making more work for him??!!

ANYWAY I think he killed her is what I’m getting at or at least he thinks that she’s dead

BUT ALSO I think that a lot of people forget is that although Dazai is kinda different in this fic, he is still a member of the mafia and has still killed people in the past, although he is more fleshed out in this and cares more about people outside himself (even if he doesn’t realise it) then he was in cannon at this age he wouldn’t have had much of a problem with killing Madame Pomphrey

Remember people this is DAZAI he HAS killed people and will continue to do so also the reason in cannon he gives to why he wants die IS THAT HE SEES NO VALUE IN LIFE so why would he value other people’s lives

ahem rant over please tell me your thoughts on the new chapter also if you disagree with anything I said or have a different understanding of anything

PLEASE I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS MASTERPIECE OF A FIC 😭😭��🙏🙏🙏

#magic and mystery #ao3 #bsd #Coil Ao3 #Coil

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sinsiriuslyemo · 6 months ago

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Chapter Twelve: Madeline's Corner

“Luke! I am your father!”

Sirius’ eyes went wide as saucers. “What?!” He slid to the edge of the sofa. “What?! Why’ve you just cut me hand off, Dad?!”

From the corner of his eye, Penny was beaming and silently chuckling at his reaction. She slid closer to him under the supposed pretense of getting some more popcorn from the bowl in his lap.

“Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.”

“Don’t do it, mate,” Sirius mumbled.

He had heard similar promises when he was a boy, and even then he’d known they were empty. The only thing people like Darth Vader and his own father cared for was power and status, at any cost, even at the expense of his honor. Even at the expense of his own child. Regulus had fallen for it, and no matter how many times Sirius tried to talk some sense into him — and later knock some sense into him — Reggie refused to see reason. One of the hardest things Sirius had done in his life was to let go of his only brother. Had it not been for James he might’ve gone mad.

Sirius grinned when Luke chose to fall instead of joining Vader on the dark side. And for a moment, he fantasized that Luke was Reggie, rejecting the dark arts that their mother and father and Voldemort dangled in front of him. He imagined his brother fighting by his side in the Order, and the two of them carving out a new hope for the name Black.

“That’s the biggest reveal in cinema history,” Penny said, smiling at him. “When I went to see it for the first time, the whole theater went crazy at the reveal that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker.”

“I can imagine. I did not see that coming,” he replied, bringing a few pieces of popcorn to his mouth.

“No one did,” Penny replied. “I was obsessed with this movie after it came out.”

“I can see why.”

He watched with interest as some sort of contraption formed a new hand for Luke. It was a good thing as well, he couldn’t imagine the kad being able to defeat Vader and lead the rebellion to victory with only one hand. Then again, Mad-Eye Moody certainly held his own with one leg, but Luke Skywalker was no Mad Eye.

“We have something like that in our world,” he said, gesturing with his chin to the screen. “It’s called Skele-Grow.”

“Skele…Grow?! As in growing a new skeleton?” Penny asked.

“That’s right,” Sirius replied, smirking over at her. “So if, for example, you were to lose a finger playing Quidditch, you’d be sent to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomphrey would make you drink some Skele-Grow. By morning, it would be as though you never lost that finger.”

A smile slowly formed on her lips. “Would that someone be you?”

“What gave it away?”

“That proud little smirk on your face,” she replied with a chuckle.

He laughed under his breath, moving the arm that was on the back of the sofa a bit closer to her. For the rest of the movie, he sat perfectly still, unable to pull his eyes from the screen, but equally incapable of paying attention to anything except the warmth that he could feel off of her. He caught a scent of maplewood from her hair and turned his nose slightly, trying to get a better whiff, taking note of a sweet undertone. Every time she reached for the popcorn bowl on his lap, he held his breath, his eyes watching her fingers take hold of a kernel before she brought it to her lips. A loud noise brought his focus back to the screen and he inhaled sharply as if waking up from a deep sleep.

“Right, that was great,” Sirius said as the credits rolled on The Empire Strikes Back. “That was so much better than the first one. Yoda, Lando, the story telling, the twist — I may be being cynical, but I can’t take it as gospel yet. It could be a trick. We know Darth Vader is a dark man and they’ve already shown that he can’t be trusted.”

“The only thing is, what he said to Luke, ‘look inside yourself and you’ll know it to be true.’”

“Well if it is true, then I understand the fear that Obi and Yoda had,” Sirius replied. “But I mean, this film had everything new characters, action, romance, twist, com —”

She held a hand out toward him. “Wait, you said romance?”

“Yes, between Han and Leia.”

Penny furrowed her brows though there was a slight smirk on her face as she replied, “I don’t know if I agree with that. I’m not a fan of the whole I know thing.”

“Yes, but that’s in line with his character. He is that arrogant guy that would just say I know —”

“So then he doesn’t love her,” she argued with a shrug.

“Of course he loves her —”

“Then why couldn’t he say it?”

“He shows it! He went on ice for the people he loves!” he answered.

“No, he didn’t. He was forced into ice.”

“Oh come off it,” Sirius replied in a chuckle. “He absolutely did it for them, give the man some credit.”

Penny shook her head, a smile planted on her face. “He gets no credit from me. Don’t get me wrong, I like Han, but he can be a bit of a prick.”

“Suppose I can’t argue with that,” he replied, setting the popcorn bowl on the coffee table beside their dinner bowls. “You said there were three, can we watch the next one sometime?”

Penny grinned as she stood from the sofa, gathering their empty bowls to bring them to the sink. “Yeah, of course. I can go tomorrow and rent it.”

“Brilliant,” he said, following her with their drink glasses. He set the glasses on the counter and leaned back against it, watching her while she washed all of the used dishes in the sink.

The phone rang in the sitting room, but she made no move to go and answer it. Just rolled her eyes while she dried the popcorn bowl and glared in its direction. Her voice from the box beside it sounded after the ringing stopped, and after the beep, something stirred in the pit of his stomach.

Hello Penelope, it’s Nicholas. I got your number from your mum this morning. I thought this would be a good time to ring you, but… I suppose not. Anyway I was wondering if you maybe wanted to get together for dinner on Friday evening. I know a lovely place downtown that I think you’d enjoy. Ring me back when you get a moment. My number is —

Sirius tried to tune it out as he turned into the hallway and went to the toilet to relieve himself. Despite the pang of jealousy, he had to acknowledge that Penny going out with someone else was perhaps a good thing. It would make it much easier for him to leave in two weeks if she was interested in another bloke. Still, he couldn't help the urge inside him to pull her attention away from Nicholas. He washed his hands and came back out just as she was pulling The Empire Strikes Back from the VCR.

“Shall we watch that other one you brought then?”

Her eyes came up to meet his. “Ugh… I don’t know if I’m in the mood for a romantic comedy.”

For a moment, he looked her over as she put the tape back into its case “Why don’t you just tell your mum how you feel?”

Penny snorted softly. “You don’t think I’ve tried? I’ve been telling her for years that I’m not interested in dating anyone she wants to set me up with. She doesn’t listen to me.”

“Why not?” he asked, sitting back on the sofa.

“Oh, I don’t know. To be honest, I’m not sure she listens to anyone —”

“No, I mean, why not go out with this bloke?” he asked.

“Not you too,” she groaned.

“No, just listen; I understand that you’re much more invested in your studies than you are in finding someone to marry, but… just because you go out on a date or two, doesn’t mean you need to get married.”

“Sure, I get that, but she doesn’t even know what I would want in a partner if I were looking for one. The guys she tries to set me up with don’t have a real interest in women like me. They don’t want a woman with their own career, they want a wife who will pop out babies like they’re a vending machine.”

“How do you know if you don’t —”

“Look, can we just drop it?” she snapped.

Sirius blinked, lowering his eyes as he nodded. “Sorry —”

“No, I’m sorry,” she replied, plopping down onto the sofa beside him, her hands over her face. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“I understand why you did, it seems to be a conversation you’re quite tired of having,” he said.

“Yeah, but I know you mean well.” Her hand fell on his knee as she gave him a tight smile. “I guess I just feel like no one hears me when I talk. It’s like I say things, but I’m on mute.”

Nodding softly, he swallowed and said, “I hear you.”

Her eyes met his and a slow smile appeared on her lips. A flurry of electricity surged through his leg, an icy spot remaining when she took her hand way to run it through her hair. Swallowing thickly, his eyes flickered to the bookshelf, where there were two other movies he hadn’t seen, and gestured with his chin.

“Well then, why don’t we watch one of them? I think there are two others you mentioned you had,” he said.

Smiling back at him, she nodded once. “I think you’d like Back to the Future.”

The following morning went much like the one before. There were already delicious aromas in the air when Padfoot woke up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth before he and Penny ate together. After she left for work, he went back into the study to continue working with the wand. He was getting stronger, more efficient with his movements, and was able to conjure a ball, transfigure a pencil into a snowglobe and was brushing up on enchantments when the front door opened.

Ears perking up, he quickly transformed into Padfoot out of an abundance of caution. Penny should’ve been at work, who could be letting themselves into her flat? Placing the wand on the bookshelf, he began to walk down the hall when Penny came into view on the other end.

What are you doing home? he wondered, tilting his head.

“Did you forget we have your appointment today?” she asked.

Transforming into his human form, one side of his lips curled. “Are you really going to take me to that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Are you nervous they’re gonna give you another shot?” she asked.

Sirius tilted his head up, shaking his head. “No, of course not.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly as a small smile made its way into her face. “They’re not. They just wanna track your weight gain. Come on. I’ll get the leash.”

“Bloody hell, Penny, do we really need the lead?” he whined. “You know I’m well trained, I won’t run off.”

“It’s not about that. If I don’t have you on a leash, they could fine me for it. Come on, we’re already breaking the law by you not being neutered, don’t make me break another,” she answered, walking back into the hallway with the collar and leash.

He tried to suppress a smirk, but had trouble when she was trying to do the same. “Right, you’ll not be neutering me, just so we’re clear.”

“Oh, I would never,” she assured him, shaking her head. She held the collar open. “Come on, dog time.”

Snorting softly, he sighed and transformed, allowing her to put the collar around his neck.

“Good boy,” she said, chuckling when he wagged his tail.

The one good thing about having to go to the muggle vet was that he got to ride in the car again, and like a good pet owner, Penny lowered the window for him to stick his head out and let the wind hit his face. It was moments like these where he thought James had been right that he would be happier as a dog.

If only things were different, he thought, looking back at Penny. As they stopped at a red light, she looked at him and smiled back, making his heart warm in response. If things were different, and he did decide to make the change permanent as James had so often suggested, he would choose to be her dog a thousand times over.

“You get through this visit and I’ll bring home a special treat after work, hows that sound?” she asked.

Huffing in response, he turned his head back out the window, and his heart quickened in his chest. On the corner of the light where they were, a man was coming out of what appeared to be a bookshop called Madeline’s Corner. A tall man with brown hair, a book in one hand, a suit that may have seen better days, but it was the scars on his face — one that began just over his left eyebrow and ran across the bridge of nose onto his right cheek while the other cut diagonally down his left cheek and reached his chin — that Padfoot recognized immediately.

Remus, he thought, resisting the urge to bark for his attention.

The last time Sirius had seen him, they’d had a fight — something that had happened more and more often back then — and one that Sirius had been convinced that they might bever come back from. Of course that was then. The encounter with Peter in muggle London had changed everything for him, and now Sirius just wanted his friend back.

Remus slowly made his way in the opposite direction, prompting a soft whine from Padfoot, who nudged the door as though to follow his old friend. Before he could make that decision, the car began to move again, lengthening the distance between Remus and himself. Padfoot looked up at the street sign; Charing Cross Road. Remus was likely headed toward the Leaky Cauldron, though with the moon fast approaching, he imagined Remus was trying to get himself somewhere safe. Padfoot cried again, lowering himself on the seat and laying his head on his front paws.

“Are you okay?” Penny asked, reaching to pet him with one hand.

I couldn’t even say hello to him, Padfoot whined softly in response, staring down at the floor of the front seat.

The more he thought about the last time he’d seen Remus, the more his heart ached, as though a gaping hole had metastasized right beside the two left behind by Peter and his betrayal. If he could only change one thing, it would be what he did after that row with Remus. Whether that would trickle down to changing James and Lily’s fate he couldn’t be certain, but at least he would still have Remus.

“Bigfoot!”

Padfoot walked with Penny into the examination room, his mind still on Remus and the bookshop he exited. It seemed a fair assumption that the shop might have been magic. Why else would Moony have gone in there, and so close to the full when his appearance would attract more muggle attention than usual? He would have to ask Penny about it once they got back to her flat.

As he stepped onto the plate on the floor, Padfoot looked up at the muggle healer.

“30 kilos! Well done, Bigfoot! That’s brilliant,” the woman said, smiling warmly at him. “I expect he’ll be up to proper weight in no time.” She turned toward Penny. “How has he been otherwise? Any changes I should be aware of?”

“No, none. He’s been going to the bathroom consistently, eating well, and as far as I know, sleeping well.”

Padfoot shifted his eyes. Not quite 'well' actually.

“Wonderful,” the healer replied, taking note on her clipboard before adding, “and I see that he’s still intact. After we’ve gotten him up to weight, we’ll need to make an appointment to have him fixed.”

Padfoot whipped his head to give Penny a meaningful stare so quickly that he nearly stumbled, relieved when she gave him a reassuring smile.

“Absolutely,” she said to the healer.

“You can probably begin taking him on short walks to exercise him,” the healer said as she listened to his heart and stomach. “Start with about a fifteen minute walk, and then build up to an hour. When we make his neutering appointment, we can also give him a chip if you plan to keep him.”

Penny nodded, but behind the smile on her face there was a sadness from knowing that wouldn’t actually come to pass.

“Yes, I want to keep him,” she said.

“Right, so same time next week. I’ll see you both then,” the healer replied, smiling down at him and petting his fur. “I’ll see you next week, Bigfoot.”

Barking a response to the healer, he let Penny walk him out of the exam room and past the front desk. Once back in the car, he looked over at her just as she quickly wiped a tear with her knuckle. He leaned over and gave her cheek a lick, earning a soft laugh.

“I know I can’t actually keep you, I was just saying that so we don’t blow our cover with the vet. It’s okay, I’m just a big baby,” she said in a sad chuckle. Petting his head, she turned on the car and began to drive back to her flat.

As they came back inside, Padfoot trotted to the kitchen and transformed, giving Penny a sympathetic look as she came in after him.

“Don’t mind me,” she said, sniffling through a smile and waving him off. “Seriously, I cry at Folgers commercials.”

“What’s that?”

Snorting softly, she shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Just so you know…” he said, leaning against the counter. “I would love nothing more than to stay here with you. But I —”

“I know, you can’t,” she replied, smiling back at him, laughing softly as she added, “I mean, you’re not even really a dog.”

No, but I would be if it meant I could stay with you.

“Well, I gotta get back to work,” she said after a moment. “Do you like curry?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Every proper Englishman likes a good curry.”

“Cool. I can grab some on the way home,” she replied.

“Will we be watching that Harry Sally film later then?”

Smiling back at him, she nodded once. “Yeah, okay. It’s a date.”

Those last three words prompted a wide grin, and his stomach did a somersault. “Brilliant.”

“See you in a bit,” she replied, going toward the door.

Suddenly, he remembered the store and Remus, and called out to her. “Wait! Just one thing…” He waited for her to come back into the kitchen. “I just wanted to ask about a shop I saw just down the street. Madeline’s Corner on Charing Cross?”

“What?” she asked with furrowed brows. “I don’t know it. What kind of shop? Could you tell?”

“It was a bookshop, just on the corner.”

Slowly shaking her head, she replied, “That can’t be right, the closest bookshop is in the other direction on Strand.”

“Are you certain?”

“Sure I’m sure, I know just about every bookshop in a five-mile radius. I’ve never heard of a Madeline’s Corner,” she answered.

“What’s on the corner of Charing Cross then?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know actually. I’ve never really noticed. I can check if you want.”

“Would you?”

“Yeah, of course,” she answered.

“Thank you.”

“Sure,” she replied. “See you later, okay?”

“Yes,” he said, transforming again to follow her into the sitting room. He sat beside his dog bed and kept his eyes on her as she closed the door, almost wishing she didn’t have to leave.

#sirius black #sirius black x ofc #sirius black fanfiction #harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban #fanfic #gary oldman

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marauders-omegaverse-fest · 2 years ago

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Frequently Asked Question

What is Omegaverse? What is A.B.O or A/B/O? Omegaverse is a trope where people have a secondary gender, designated alpha, beta, and omega (A.B.O or A/B/O). Generally, Alphas are considered a dominate partner, betas are a neutral (or merely human) partner, and Omegas are submissive. In traditional omegaverse, and alpha who has sex or mates with an omega will knot the omega, locking them together for some period of time. There’s a lot more to it, from ruts and heats, scents, and so forth, so I’d recommend (very carefully) googling if you’re not familiar with the concept. Or, you can start here, but remember: these rules are made to be broken.

What is a knot? A knot is created at the base of a penis during sex when the penis-haver gets close to and/or orgasms. It inflates during sex, and results in the penis getting locked inside of their partner.

Why do you keep saying “Generally” and “Traditionally”? Because omegaverse is a sandbox for you to play in. You can take the elements you want, build something with elements you create, and break it all down again for the next fic. No two omegaverse fics will have the same rules, so you get to make up what happens when something comes up. Genuinely, have fun with it!

I don’t read or write A/B/O fics. You know what…. This might not be the fest for you.

I don’t write smut. Omegaverse doesn’t have to include smut! Some of my favorite parts of omegaverse fics are the weird social dynamics that come out of it. Like scent-driven awkward arousals, or having to figure out Hogwarts dorms once everyone starts presenting, or Madam Pomphrey having to manage a school full of alphas and omegas going into heats/ruts. There’s a lot of room to cover here!

I don’t know what to write/what prompt to submit! Check out the prompt list! There are some preloaded prompts which are gathered from left over @hpknotfest prompts, discussions with friends, out of my own head, or found on these blogs: @bwoahtastic @animeomegas

I want to write a multi-chapter fic, but I don’t want to post it all at once. I totally get it. You can post the first chapter by the due date, but make sure you indicate that there will be more chapters coming. However, you cannot claim a second prompt unless you can show the Fest Mods that you’ve completed your first fic. If you want to do so, contact us for more information!

Can I collab with another creator? ABSOLUTELY! We would love to see it. We’re happy to have writer/writer, writer/artist, artist/artist, or whatever other combination you might come up with!

I want to self-prompt. What do I do? Fill out the claiming form! Prompt #1 is for self-prompting.

Have another question? Send us an ask!

#marauders omegaverse #faq #marauders omegaverse fest

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erectomyjunko · 1 month ago

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Finally, the headmaster spoke.

"As you must know," he said, his collected voice doing nothing to ease Remus' nerves, "tomorrow night brings the first full moon of your stay at Hogwarts."

Remus nodded, doing his absolute best to calm the fight or flight feeling that coursed through his body.

Dumbledore continued. "I have set up an arrangement that should work quite well. You must have seen the Whomping Willow tree on the east ends of the ground?"

Remus nodded.

"That beautiful tree is guarding a tunnel that leads to a home just off of school grounds. That, Remus, is where you will stay for the duration of the full moon."

Dumbledore didn't wait for Remus to ask any questions, if he had any. He simply rose from his chair, a hand reaching out to extinguish a near by candle with a snap of his fingers.

"Our Medi-Witch Madame Pomphrey will lead you there at night fall, and retrieve you at sun rise. You will meet her in the hospital wing at 4 in the evening tomorrow- no later than that."

The headmaster was the sort of guy who didn't even have to dismiss people. Remus knew, with the last word Dumbledore said, that the conversation was over. And frankly, he was glad to get out of that office.

Remus didn't even care what Dumbledore must have thought as he ran out of that office, stopping in the hallway to calm his body, to catch his breath.

Something about Albus Dumbledore made his brain, his body, scream DANGER!. Remus knew it wasn't rational, he knew this man was nothing but a headmaster, nothing but a good man. So he took a deep breath, swallowed the lump in his throat, and began the way back to the Gryffindor common room.

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cjsmalley · 1 year ago

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First Task:

“Dragons!” James shrieked as the first, a Chinese Fireball was placed in the arena.

“Dragons.” Sam said, whey-faced with fury and fear, “They’re following the plot so far. Dammit. Please don’t get the Horntail, Harry.”

“What?!” Lily screeched.

But Sam’s plea went unheard; Harry had been assigned the biggest, meanest dragon there.

The Hungarian Horntail.

The Potters screamed, as did the children sitting with them, but Sam remained silent, biting her knuckles and wishing Danny could have gotten away from his meeting.

Harry trudged into the arena, with the air of someone heading for the gallows; his wand was visible in his hand, ready to be brought to bear.

He stopped, stock-still, raised his wand and shouted something lost in the general mutterings of the audience and the grumblings of the Horntail.

His broom arrived seconds later.

“Oh Ancients,” Sam groaned into her hands, “please don’t let her break free. Just be the book, be the book. Not the movie.”

Again, nobody listened to her pleas as Harry angered the dragon enough that she broke loose.

So Harry led the dragon on a merry chase around the castle as his parents and friends prayed for his safety and his aunt just groaned.

Then he swooped back into the arena, grabbed his golden egg, and raced over the finish line just as the dragon arrived.

Working together, every adult witch and wizard used the stunning spell and brought the dragon down.

She was merely unconscious, feet away from her nest.

The Potters and Sam began making their way down from the stands and towards the medical tent.

“Harry James Potter!” James shouted, “YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!”

“Then your afterlife,” Sam added.

The Potters hugged their son between them.

“Madam Pomphrey,” Sam snagged the nurse, “is Harry okay?”

“Oh, yes. Some bruises but those were easy enough to heal.”

“Still grounded,” Lily muttered.

Wished Away 5

Damian's First Cold:

The first time Damian got sick was an ordeal.

His parents fretted and worried, hovering, helping clear his little nose with a suction bulb.

It was just a cold, all the medical professionals agreed, but little coughs broke hearts.

The yetis refused to cure him, citing his immune system needing to develop, and his pediatricians could only treat the symptoms.

They shushed and they cooed; they walked and rocked him. They sang and cried with him.

Then Sam got sick as well.

She refused to stay down in bed.

Then Danielle got the cold as well. She at least had the sense to suffer in bed. But her powers went on the fritz. Which was when they discovered her own ice powers.

Danny and Tucker were near run off their feet and the Fentons and Mansons had to step in.

“I’m fine,” Sam protested from her bed, as everyone had relocated to the Mansons�� Mansion.

“No, honey, you’re not,” Jeremy replied, patting her back through a coughing fit.

“But Dani and Dami—”

“Are well in hand, Samantha,” Pamela arrived with soup, “they have their father, uncle, and both sets of grandparents. It’s okay to rest.”

Sam sagged back slightly, “Frostbite—”

“Is monitoring Danielle,” Pamela informed her simply, handing over the soup, “Doctor Peterson is on-call for Damian. Clockwork is handling the Realms for Daniel.”

“Fine,” she accepted the soup with some grace, “I want updates though; and I will get up if Danny goes down with this cold.”

“Understandable.

Thankfully, Danny never did get the cold and everyone was well enough a few days later.

The last holdout was Tucker, who isolated in his house so as not to infect anyone again.

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fr-ogii · 2 years ago

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yandere!marauders

x gn!reader; poc friendly

masterlist

⚠️ :: use of the word “lord” (non religiously), set in their school years mainly

i actually loved writing this a lot more than i expected to, please request anything if you have any more ideas for me - i’m begging 🙏

⇢ so possessive! probably one of the most toxic yandere(s) i’ve written for (even if that isn’t saying a lot).

⇢ lord forbid any of the slytherins, especially snape, would even so much as look at you. they won’t hesitate to physically prove that they’re the only ones for you.

⇢ anyone that disrespects you (even if it’s only in the boys’ imagination) will soon find themselves experiencing the most brutal barrage of pranks that were designed to humiliate them in front of everyone, including you.

⇢ that was the most important part; you. if you saw how weak they were, how easily “beaten” they were, you would never consider them. as a friend, as a partner, anything.

⇢ they’ll do anything for an ego boost. imagine them pretending to get injured (or genuinely getting injured, depending on who we’re talking about here) just so you can coo over them and nurse them back to help. so what they can easily go to madam pomphrey to fix any wound they had? they prefer you.

⇢ and you can’t tell me they wouldn’t use their animagus forms to stalk you. james, remus, and sirius were practically fuming when they learned that peter had been using his form to sneak into your school bag and come with you to your classes.

⇢ “it’s just not fair!!” was something you could be sure james was yelling in the dorm room that night, along with the hushing of remus; the only slightly sensible one in the group that prevented them from getting caught so far.

⇢ sirius has probably attempted to convince the others that they should just take you so “their darling” didn’t have to deal with “those nasty old slytherins” anymore.

⇢ when remus, ever the rational one in the group, questioned him on where you would be kept, sirius hesitated before responding with “the shrieking shack?”

⇢ this topic wasn’t mentioned again until after the marauders had graduated. now they could properly take care of you.

⇢ and, despite knowing that they’re toxic for you, you just can’t help but be drawn back in with everything they do for you.

⇢ they publicly humiliated your partner for a transfiguration project because they made the both of you fail? okay… but, they did it for you.

⇢ let’s be honest here; having the marauders obsessed with you was something that barely anyone would have minded. they were some of the most popular people in the school and, debatably, some of the most attractive too.

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lunnettewrites · 2 years ago

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“Does it hurt?”

// Eighth Year

They were sat in the library finishing up their ancient runes assignment. “Does it hurt?” Draco blurted. “Does what hurt?” She said, putting down the parchment she was reading. “Whenyoufellfromheaven.” He mumbled, looking away. But there was no hiding his flushed face. “Uhh Malfoy, are you okay?” Her brows were knit with confusion. “Should I take you to Madam Pomphrey’s?” She gently cupped his jaw to turn his head back towards her. Then she placed the back of her hand on his forehead. “Uhhh. Yes. No. Actually I’ve gotta go.” With a flourish of his wand, all his belongings were tucked back into his bag. Then he ran off, leaving a confused Hermione. “Okay…” - the next day - Draco was already sat in his usual seat waiting for advanced potions to start. His right leg was nervously bouncing and he kept looking at the door. Then Granger walked in and took her seat beside him. “Hi Malfoy, are you feeling better?” She asked as she took out her muggle notebook and pen. Instead of greeting her normally, he blurted out, “do you come here often?” “Yeah… we have potions every Tuesday and Thursday. Are you seriously okay?” She placed her hand on top of his. Looking at her small hands holding his, he abruptly got up and left. - later that evening - “Gin, I don’t know what to do? He’s been acting strange of a sudden.” Hermione confided to the redhead as she started piling mashed potatoes onto her plate. “Well don’t look now, he’s on his way.” Ginny warned. Turning around, she saw Malfoy walking directly towards the Gryffindor table. “Granger I just-“ he started. He cleared his throat. “Yes Malfoy?” “Uh. Um. Ifyouwereavegrableyoudbeacutecumber!” Somehow, all color drained from his face and he became paler than before. “Never mind.” Then he ran out of the Great Hall. Snickering Ginny pointed her fork towards the door. “You better follow him cute-cumber.” Hermione ran outside to see Draco hunched and heaving over a plant. Slowly approaching him, “Malfoy?” No response. “Draco?” His head snapped up, his eyes wide as he looked at her. “Are you sure you’re alright?” She didn’t get a response. So she grabbed his hand and led him towards a bench. “Is something wrong? You’ve been acting strange these past couple of days.” He wasn’t looking at her. Instead he was still looking at their still-joined hands. “Oh sorry, I didn’t realize-“ she cut herself off as she tried to pull her hand back. But he tightened his grip. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, she was lost in striking grey eyes. “Granger I really like you.” Her eyes widened at his confession. “I just don’t know how to express myself around you. I’ve been taking rubbish advice from Theo and Blaise on pickup lines. And I don’t think-“ realizing that he started rambling, he cleared his throat, cutting himself off. “Point is, I really really like you.” “Draco,” she saw him tense. “Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday?” He let out a sigh of relief. “I would be honored to go with you.” She kissed him on the cheek before getting up and returning to the Great Hall hand in hand.

As they walked back, Hermione asked him, “soo, why’d Theo and Blaise think those pickup lines would actually work? And why a cute-cumber?”

- first posted on twitter

#dramione #dramioneprompts #hermione granger x draco malfoy #bad pickup lines #eighth year #twitter drabble #twitter #twitter prompts

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bibbityboppitybillyharvgrove · 1 year ago

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Stubborn Sickness - D.Malfoy

Summary - Y/N is too stubborn to take a pepperup potion even though she is sick and madam Pomphrey has a bunch. The kind hearted slytherin in turn suffers through it in her boyfriend’s bed, snoring her days away. Thankfully Pansy is there to save the day and give her best friend the potion that will make her better.

Word Count - 819

Warnings - Illness(common cold), swearing, use of y/n, female reader, Theo and Pansy are kinda comedic relief, (let me know If I missed any)

Author's Note- Day Six! Welcome! This is my first Draco fic but it really doesn't have a lot of Draco. I am still trying my damndest to keep up with the 25 days! I'm writing and scheduling my uploads ahead of time!

Harry Potter Masterlist

my masterlist

25 days of fics masterlist

Feedback is welcomed and encouraged!

Enjoy!

not my gif

Because of the winter, illnesses were inevitable, students at a constant rotation in the hospital wing for a pepperup potion. There were a few students however, that were particularly stubborn, one of them being Y/N Y/L/N. She knew how busy madam Pomphrey was during this time of year, so she wanted to lessen the load a little bit, even if it was just by one student. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, thought she was being an idiot for not going to get the potion.

Draco, the ever dutiful boyfriend, was at his ill girlfriend’s every beck and call. She was staying in his dorm so his roommates also had to go through the pleasures of her acting like she was dying over a cold. She had been sleeping in Draco’s bed, covers pulled up over her shoulders, tissues scattered around her, snoring due to her clogged sinuses.

She woke with a start due to a pillow smacking into her head. “What the fuck!?” She whined, her eyes still closed, her mouth completely dry.

“You snore louder than a dragon! I’m trying to study here,” Theo complained right back.

“I can’t help it, I’m sick! I don’t usually snore, go study in the library if it bothers you that much.”

Draco walked into the room, a glass of water in his hand and his bag swung over his shoulder. “Don’t make fun of her snoring, she can’t help what she does while she sleeps. Darling, you snore all the time, it’s just louder than usual,” Draco chimed in, dropping his bag at the end of his bed and giving her the glass of water. He made sure she drank at least half before he went about pulling any homework out of his bag.

“I snore all the time?” She questioned her boyfriend.

“Yes, but it’s cute! And you know I’d never lie to you.” He was in the process of starting his homework and handing Y/N hers. She pouted but started her homework with Draco. She was halfway through before she went into a sneezing fit, her boyfriend sighing because he had been pestering her to go see Pomphrey which she kept refusing.

“At this point just ask Snape for the damn potion. I don’t want to get sick too,” Blaise added to the conversation.

“I’m not gonna get you sick!” Before Blaise and Theo could go back at her, Pansy waltzed into the room like it was her own. In her hand she held a potion, more specifically the pepperup potion and it was enough for all of them just in case the boys got sick too.

“I come bearing a gift! Not only is there enough for our dear Y/N, but there’s also enough for the rest of you if you get sick. Well, more like when you get sick,” Pansy sing-songed as she skipped to her sick friend. Y/N was more than thankful for her friend and roommate, willingly taking the bit of potion that Pansy had given her.

She started to feel better after about an hour, her sinuses opening up, her headache disappearing, and the ache in her body leaving completely. She spent the rest of her night catching up on homework and cleaning up around the dorm since she had taken over for a few days. Draco insisted she stayed one more night with him before returning to her own room so of course she couldn’t say no.

The next morning she was once again rudely woken up, this time it was the boys around her all whining. She had officially gotten all of them sick, including Draco who was still asleep but snoring like a freight train. Oh how the tables have turned, the boys choosing to give her a taste of her own medicine, having her bring them tissues and their homework as well as going into the kitchens to get them all food.

Later that day, after all of them agreed to take the potion, she felt relieved and exhausted. “I am never going to be stubborn about this bloody potion ever again, you guys are too much!” She ranted.

“Karma,” Pansy added in her two cents.

“I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

“Not at all darling. We were just exaggerating,” Draco assured his girlfriend.

“No, you were worse,” Theo told her truthfully.

“What the fuck, Nott! I told you not to say anything!”

“I can’t lie to her! She’s one of my best friends, Malfoy! I need to tell her the truth about how whiney she actually was.”

Her face was hot with embarrassment, as she hid her head in Draco’s neck. She was slightly thankful for Theo’s honesty, she never realized how bad she actually was when she was sick. “Don’t worry, love, I’ll always take care of you when you’re sick, even if you’re too stubborn to take a pepperup potion.”

#harry potter #professor snape #draco lucius malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy #hpdm #draco x reader #draco fanfiction #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy x fem!reader #draco malfoy x you #hp fandom #harry potter fandom #draco malfoy fanfiction

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littlemissnoname13 · 3 years ago

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Fortunate Misfortune (D.M x Reader): Chapter 15: Intervention

Summary: Where Draco receives an intervention from Astoria and the group gathers for one last celebration before Christmas Break

Warnings: Coarse language, mentions of food and death and parental issues. Its not too heavy hearted but still.

A/n: Lets pretend I never said the next chapters are going to be shorter. It just broke my heart to delete the things I spent hours writing. Thank you to everyone still keeping up with this chaotic mess of a series. The smut will be posted in a few hours.

Reblogs and feedbacks are always welcomed :)

Words: 3.2k (Er...)

Chapter 14| Masterlist |Chapter 16

“What is it, Astoria?” Draco patiently waited for Astoria to continue but she seemed to be too preoccupied glaring at Pansy to notice.

“What?” Pansy deadpanned.

“I said I want to speak to Draco.”

“Don’t stop on my accord.”

“I want to speak to Draco, Alone.” Astoria folded her hands across her chest and Pansy rolled her eyes at her, clearly irked. As nonchalant as she acted, it was hard to miss the way Pansy quickly scanned the side table to check if Astoria had everything she needed. Who would have thought Pansy Parkinson had a secret soft side.

“Yeah. I was just leaving anyway.” Pansy huffed before reaching for her bag hanging by the metal frame of the bed. “Don’t forget to take your hourly tonic. You always seem to forget about it.”

“Yes, mum.” Astoria waved her hands to shoo Pansy away and Draco found this new dynamic both annoying and amusing at the same time. In these last few days, they’d all gotten uncomfortably close to one another. It was bizarre having friends that weren’t friends with him due to his father’s connections for once.

“So…” Draco began when Astoria finally settled down and got comfortable on her bed again. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Two things actually. Astoria coughed and Draco reached for a glass of water to hand to her. “Let's start with the easier one first. I need your expert opinion on Blaise.”

“Why does EVERYONE recruit me for special intelligence on Zabini?” Draco snorted.

“Let me guess who this everyone is.” Astoria tapped her index finger against her chin, pretending to be deep in thought. “Is this someone we both know?”

“Maybe. Although, her way of asking involved threatening, groveling and feeding me that off-putting sandwich that you two apparently swear by.”

“The usual?” Astoria sniggered loud enough for Madam Pomphrey to look at them from the far corner of the room and Draco quietly nodded with his lips twitching from a smile he was biting back. “I remember my first taste of the usual. I was staying at her house over Christmas when we were twelve I think. You see, her parents are never around-not even for Christmas actually and It was the only thing she could put together without triggering a fire hazard in the kitchen.”

“Wasn’t there at least one responsible adult to stop the fire hazard, if it’d happened?”

“Her Gran was napping in the living room at the time I think—I'm not sure. She used to stay over every Christmas up until our fourth year though.” Astoria sighed, restlessly fidgeting with her thumbs like the topic was making her mildly uncomfortable. “Y/n has been staying back at Hogwarts ever since her grandmother died.”

Sure, they’d talked about death earlier and had even poked fun at it, but deep down all of them were still fucking terrified of it. Even Astoria. Especially Astoria.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Where are her parents anyway?”

“I dunno. Paris, sometimes Arles. They keep travelling.” Astoria made air quotations when she said travelling. “Absent parents aside, we practically had to raise each other through the years.”

Ah, Parents, parenting. Toxic, absent, nurturing.

People always seem to overlook how someone’s relationship with their parents can impact their self-worth, their ability to navigate through life, and form decent human relationships. His parents were around, physically. Emotionally? Not so much.

He was his father’s sole heir and his mother’s darling boy and he grew up with an inflated self worth and a dire need to please his father. When he was younger, he wrote letters addressed to Lucius every time he performed well in a quiz or caught a snitch and waited for his now redundant eagle owl to bring back a response of “well done, son” or “I'm proud of you”. Lucius never wrote back.

The only letters he ever got were about galas, and charity dinners and how he was required to prepare himself for the succession of the Malfoy line and name. He was nothing but a vessel to carry Lucius’s line forward. He was isolated from all things familial or affectionate. But still, his parents were physically present at least and he’d never spent a Christmas at Hogwarts.

Draco was only able to nod while Astoria continued talking about every Christmas she’d spent with you and how much she hated the fact that she would be spending this Christmas getting treatment.

There was fondness in her sunken eyes everytime she talked about you. It was like she had slipped into a different dimension, a happier one at that. Where there were unlimited unappetizing sandwiches, no threat of fire in the kitchen and where blood curses did not exist.

Draco didn’t even realise Astoria’s fondness had liquified into tears by the time she got to the story about her previous Christmas where she’d put up a tent made of sheets in your room with you. Bittersweet tears that she proceeded to wipe with the corner of her blanket.

“Astoria..”

He was already terrible at comforting people. The heaviness he felt inside of him was nauseating and the best he could do was awkwardly place his hand on top of hers.

“I don't want to die.”

“You aren’t dying.” He convinced her, but it appeared as if he was convincing himself. Astoria knew better.

“Well, in case I do perish, I have something to say and you, Draco Malfoy better listen carefully.” Astoria sniffled a bit before clearing her throat to sound stern and assertive. Like a mother bear, defending her bear cubs. He could slowly see why Blaise and Astoria instantly clicked and wondered if they used their respective nurturing voices on each other while they were doing the deed. Yuck.

“Listening.”

“I don’t know what is going on inside that head of yours and I don't know if you are ever going to admit your feelings for Y/n— yeah, don't even bother denying because it's pretty obvious to everyone. But if you dare hurt her in any way or form, I sure as hell will come for you, I will haunt you.”

A hot flush invaded his alabaster face and his ears suddenly resembled ripened tomatoes.

It’s obvious? How is it obvious? Who is everyone? Crabbe? Goyle? My father? Longbottom? Dumbledore? The minister of magic?

“How is it obvious?”

“I’ve seen the way you’ve been ogling her.” Astoria’s facial muscles mimicked his gaze in an over exaggerated way. “I used to think it was wholesome at first, but then you started to undress her with your eyes.”

“I did not.”

“You sat squeezed in between the Weasley twins, you beat up Flint, you built a tea collection in her dorm room!”

“I may have had my own personal vendetta against ol’ buck tooth due to his excessive quidditch practice routine and I am happy to provide you with some tea bags too, if that's what this is about.”

“I feel like I’m teaching feelings to a cold unfeeling amphibian.” Astoria groaned and yanked a pillow from behind her to smother her face in. “How hard is it to express yourself for once?! Take it from a dying girl, life really is short.”

Astoria was using the dying girl angle like a dagger aiming right at the heartstrings. Trust the younger greengrass sister to always make lemonade out of lemons.

“It’s not simple.” Draco sighed.

“Why?”

There was no way he was getting out of this. Astoria would guilt trip him even further if he did.

“Look, I don’t know what y/n wants or how she feels about this, about us—if there is an us.” Draco began. “I’d rather stay this way than say something I can’t take back and lose her in the process.”

“Stay this way?” Astoria took a big gulp of water and put her pillow back, fluffing it to get more comfortable. “You know viruses are neither dead nor living. They are in this strange purgatory and by the looks of it, so is your relationship with y/n. Answer honestly Draco, do you really want to stay in this limbo between friend, hookup, lover forever?

He thought about it for a second. He didn’t want to lose you but he didn’t want to stay this way either. He wanted to call you his. He wanted to be yours.

“Life will not go around handing you things if you are afraid to even ask for them. It doesn’t work that way.” Astoria took another sip. “People will go their whole lives without even knowing you love them if you don’t tell them. It can be written on your face, you can buy them a dozen roses, you can serenade them with a string quartet, and yet, they will still be completely oblivious to your feelings unless you let them materialise into words,Draco.”

“But—”

“You will be stuck right where you are, right now at this very moment for the rest of your days, in that wobbly wooden chair wondering about all the what ifs in this life unless you stand up, step away and ask—just ask for what you want for once.”

Draco nodded his head stiffly and Astoria placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. A dozen roses and a string quartet seemed easier than asking for what he really wanted

“Now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to ask a question about my wonderful boyfriend please.”

“Ask away.” Draco pretended to gag and Astoria rolled her eyes.

“What does Blaise want for Christmas?”

~~~

On the afternoon of the twenty-third, Draco stuffed his acceptance letter inside one of his blazer pockets and sat down to pen another letter.

Dear Mother,

Happy Christmas.

I hope father hasn’t been that big of a grump this year. In any case, Pansy and Blaise will be on their way to the Manor soon and they might just cheer you up.

I won't be home for Christmas, Mother. There’s something I need to do. I hope you’ll understand.

Love,

Draco

“Ready to go, Malfoy?” Blaise asked as Draco quickly sealed the letter and gave it to his owl. They had all unanimously decided to have a small celebration before everyone departed.

“I still think this is a rather juvenile idea.” Pansy folded her arms across her chest and stomped her left feet on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. To her horror, the heel of her shoe dug itself in through the snow, grass and soil.

Astoria covered her mouth and coughed as a means to hide her snort at the sight of Pansy freaking out over her brand new designer shoes.

The ground he was currently standing on had a concentrated scent of magic mixed with the scent of freshly fallen snow. This intimate christmas celebration taking place one day before everyone left looked like a cult meeting with everyone clad in furry mantles, cloaks and shimmering silver patronuses running, flying, sprinting out and about.

“Give it a try, Malfoy. The christmas cheer might just conjure a patronus.” Blaise encouraged in his infamous mother goose like voice as he wrapped his arms around Astoria from behind. Her Hummingbird patronus rested on her shoulder.

Blaise’s Borzoi patronus on the other hand was happily running about with Pansy’s Sphinx Cat.

“I'd rather not.” Draco scoffed at his best friend whilst lazily twirling his wand between his fingers. “I have accepted that I may never conjure a patronus.”

“Well, you are missing out.” Blaise shrugged and the silver Borzoi next to him encircled Draco like it agreed with him.

“Speaking of people that are missing out,where’s y/n?”

There was a slow, unexpected leap in Draco’s heartbeat the sound of your name. Astoria noticed the sudden shift in his posture and the way he had unknowingly placed a palm flat to his chest.

“Ask the universe and you shall receive, Draco.” Astoria smiled encouragingly, wrapping her left hand around Draco’s right hand and resting her head gently on his shoulder. Blaise now stood towards Draco’s left, his lanky arms huddling the three of them into a small cluster.

“Thanks, Astoria.” Draco looked down and smiled back at her reassuringly. Yes, he was going to be brave now. You were worth the fight and if he got his heart broken in the process, so be it.

“Look at you and that goofy grin on your face.” Blaise remarked whiling he shuddered at the sight. He was still getting used to the non-sulky side of Draco. “Think about whatever’s made you grin like that and conjure a patronus. I bet it's one of those Albino Peacocks you used to have at the Manor.”

“Five galleons says it's a ferret.” Pansy chimed in, looping her arm into Blaise’s.

“You're on.”

“I need better friends.” Draco scoffed and took a step forward holding his wand out. Maybe asking the universe for a patronus or even a silver spool of light from his wand didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Closing his eyes, he sucked in a breath and let his mind travel to the time he had been truly happy. That day, in your room after your failed attempt at giving Blaise a bouquet. He’d never seen someone so peacefully asleep before. It stilled him.

Expecto Patronum.

There was a spark at the tip of this wand. A measly spark. That’s all he got.

Reluctantly lowering his wand, Draco turned his head around to look at his friends.

“Not bad, Not bad at all.” Blaise commented, slow clapping his hand like those encouraging parents giving their children an ego boost when they hop on the broom for the first time. Pansy and Astoria shared their enthusiasm through “whoos” and words like “You can do it.” Yep, he really needed better friends.

When he turned back around to give the charm another go, he came face to face with you.

You were dressed head to toe in black, giving his own suit a run for its money. Your scarf was wrapped loosely around your neck and snowflakes had caught onto your hair you had left loose. His snow queen.

“Hi.” You looked up at him smiling and he just wanted to pick you up in his arms and spin you around. Never in his life had he cared about someone that way. It made him ache. It made him want to smile.

“Hey.” He whispered. He couldn't help himself from reaching for your mantle to tighten it around you to keep you from getting cold.

“Are you going to try again?” You asked him, eyes filled with anticipation and he shrugged as a response making you take a step towards him . He felt the tickle of your bottom lip on the shell of his ear as you whispered. “Try again, Draco.”

He didn’t need to be asked any further after that.

“Expecto Patronum.” He whispered, pointing his wand into the air with his eyes never leaving you and your frost flushed cheeks.

Everyone let out a collective gasp when spools of silver light spilled out from the tip of his wand and swirled in the air around him, reflecting the last rays of daylight in glittering particles. The silver wrapped around his body in swirls moving higher and higher into the sky.

First he saw the wings, then he saw the tail and just like that, he had somehow by the grace of the universe, conjured his first real and very much corporeal patronus that took the form of a Hungarian Horntail.

“Not the ferret I was expecting.” Pansy mumbled, with her eyes still fixed onto the sky.

Draco looked down at you again while his patronus dutifully assumed its place next to him.

Draco could still recall that day in his room, when he saw you in that lilac dress for the first time. Before you’d shown up to his room, he had been stressing over his fellowship application. You’d kissed him that day and he has decided that if death did come, he would face death valiantly as happy man that had lived a long fulfilling life. Your lips had touched his and he didn't need anything more.

You had been right all along. He hadn’t been using the right memory.

You grinned at him, and raised your wand up in the air. “Expecto Patronum.”

Pearlescent swirls spilled out from the tip of your wand and followed his patronus in the sky while he watched your face illuminate. He’d never seen your badger before, and he wondered what memory you used to conjure it up this time. Whatever memory that was, must have been a strong one by the looks of it.

Wait a minute..

Collective gasps echoed even louder this time, as everyone present started to tilt their heads upwards to look at the brand new patronus that had corporealised in front of his own in the sky.

Maybe the universe had spoken to him. Maybe this was a sign of encouragement.

Now more hopeful than ever, Draco dipped his head low so you could lift your chin up to meet his lips in a kiss that sealed it all.

Two Hungarian Horntails, face to face.

Saying things neither he nor you were brave enough to say out loud. Not yet anyway.

~~~

Astoria was the first one to leave followed by Blaise, Pansy and Draco. On the morning of the twenty-fourth, you found yourself standing outside four broomsticks. It seemed as if life was happening at full force everywhere around you, without you.

Children held onto their parent’s tumb for dear life as they tilted their little heads up to look at the Christmas lights in awe. Ornaments shimmered in tinctures of red and gold, carolers sang deck the halls and the distant scent of gingerbread from the bakery across the street wafted up your nose.

Christmas was all around you and yet, you didn’t feel like you were a part of it—you didn’t feel like you’d ever be welcomed enough to be a part of it. It was like you were a patch of unwanted grey shunned by all the glimmer and glitter.

Dragging your feet back towards the castle, you thought about the memory that had conjured your patronus. I.e. Draco clutching that kettle for dear life. You smiled a sad smile and unlocked the door to your room. You were going to miss him terribly over the break.

“Merry Christmas, y/n.”

Draco smiled from the other side of your door. He had the kettle on and it looked as if he was attempting to shrink a christmas tree he seemed to have stolen from the Slytherin common room to fit into your room. There was an abundance of yellow ornaments on the floor however, like he was trying to make the tree more Hufflepuff themed. “Sorry, I let myself in.”

“What are you doing here?” You blinked at him, confused.

His lips turned upwards to form a crooked grin before he awkwardly pushed his hands into his pockets. “I stole Christmas for you, Y/n.”

“You what?”

“I stole Christmas for—” The rest of his sentence never made it out of his mouth.

You had abandoned every question you had for him to throw yourself onto him. You were positive you wouldn’t hit the ground because it was Draco. He’d always catch you.

Draco lifted you off the ground and deepened this kiss, swallowing all your gasps and sighs before he gently tossed you to your bed. Maybe it was going to be a very merry Christmas after all…

Smut available here

Series Taglist: @sycathorn-slush @badass-yn @louweasleymalfoy@writeandtranslate @silentkiller2374 @lilmissquackson@mzmalice3 @mvdbldd @emptycanvasthings @likediamondsandgold @hey-asstown @dr4cking @flacalatke @besutiful-y/n @i-have-my-issues @daniellarogers @kamalymaly @hallothankmas

two more chapters!

I'm really sorry if the pacing has been a little off for this series. This was my first ever extended series and I hadn't considered that many things through.

The patronus scenes were taken out from their graduation scene that I ended up scrapping.

#draco fic #draco malfoy x reader #draco x reader #draco malfoy #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy series #draco fanfiction #draco angst #draco fluff #draco imagine #draco malfoy angst #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy fic #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x you #draco x hufflepuff!reader #draco malfoy x hufflepuff!reader

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hillnerd · 2 years ago

Text

The Wonderful Won Won - Chapter 6

A03 ff.net beginning of story | Previous Chapter

chapter word count 6006

Been a while! I had this chapter almost all written but completely forgot about it to be honest!

Chapter Warnings- crude language and thoughts.

Chapter 6 - O -R -G

Ron woke early, something he was quite loathe to do. He should have gotten used to it, since he grew up on a farm and was forced out of bed quite early in the morning for chores a few times a week. He never did. While other siblings were genuine early risers, Ron was more of a night owl. He had time to himself at night, no chores, and no expectations. Plus there were few things that brought more pleasure than falling asleep and waking up naturally as late as you needed.

Despite all this, Ron found himself giddy. He was finally going to leave the hospital wing. Pomfrey had run a gamut of tests on him the night before- and he was mostly alright. He still had potions to take, he still had trouble with writing when he was tired, and he still felt a bit wobbly with walking after a few minutes- but he was allowed to go to class! He could finally move and interact with people.

The air felt fresher. The warmth from his long shower actually seemed to seep in deeper than it had before. And he had Hermione back. How could anything be wrong in his life again?

As Harry went to the bathroom to get dressed and do his morning ablutions, Madame Pomfrey approached Ron at the door, a few vials of potion in her hands.

“Now, just because I am letting you attend your classes does not give you a completely clean bill of health, Mr Weasley. You’ve got to take these potions as instructed within thirty-seven minutes of eating or they lose their efficacy. If you eat them without food they can eat right through you, so it’s highly important to take them with your meal. Your next potion is in twenty minutes. I’ve put some Unbreakable charms on these so you can keep them in your book bag without trouble.”

“Thanks, Madame Pomphrey,” he said, hoping his face got across how he felt. Though he was very grateful for her care, he was more thankful for her doing this in private.

“It’s just my job,” she said with a shake of her head. She gave him a look that almost seemed fond before she was all Healer-business again. “Now, if you have dizziness, confusion, or limb numbness that continues for more than a few moments that’s a sign you need to rest. No pushing yourself, and no Quidditch for another week. And if you have the more severe symptoms—”

“I’ll come to you,” Ron nodded, trying his best not to roll his eyes. He put his book bag on the floor to place the large amount of potions bottles in it when he heard the unmistakable cadence of footsteps coming his way. He tried to get all the bottles into his bag before she’d seen them, but glancing up he knew he’d been caught.

Hermione stood over him, face full of concern, eyes dead focused on his hand struggling to hold six bottles at once.

“That’s an awful lot of potions to be taking still…”

He quickly shoved the bottles into his bag, but took his time righting himself. His eyes trailed up Hermione feasting over her from her tiny little ankles, to her ink stained fingers, to her — shit he shouldn’t look at her tits— to her pert nose, and overbite she’d never fully gotten rid of pressing into her full bottom lip. There was something stirring about finally standing on his own two feet so near to her. He knew he was standing a bit too close, but he couldn’t help himself. He could stand there staring at her all day.

“Are you sure it’s alright for you to get out of the Hospital Wing so soon?” she fretted, and his heart soared. He didn’t like to see her worried, exactly, but seeing her making that concerned face just for him— not for Harry or Kreacher or whoever— cemented that things had truly been healed between them. Their pleasant time in the hospital wing wasn’t an anomaly. She really was back in his life.

“I’ll be fine,” he grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder.

A tender secret sort of smile slowly spread across her face. “Well, it will be nice to have you back in classes and everything else again.”

She was looking up at him through her lashes, there was something behind her eyes he couldn’t quite define as they stared at one another. His eyes fell to her lips. A charge seemed to pass between them, and he felt a swooping sensation nearabouts his stomach. Could she feel it too? Or was he just woozy from being bedridden so long? His gaze traced back up to her unreadable eyes.

“Morning, Hermione!” came Harry’s voice.

“Sweet fuck, Harry!” Ron cursed in surprise, gripping Hermione’s shoulder a bit tight. Whatever spell had passed between him and Hermione was broken. She gave Ron a miffed look that clearly said she had little patience for his foul mouth, before turning her gaze on Harry. She was beaming at him with a happy tender expression that seemed to surpass the one she’d given Ron earlier.

What an utter sod he was. Friends… Ron and Hermione were just friends… He’d have to remind himself of that every day. Realizing he’d let his hand linger on Hermione a bit too long for a friendly gesture, he snatched it away and took a few steps back from her.

God that was close. He couldn’t be staring at her like that and thinking of her lips and reading into her looks. He had a girlfriend… And Hermione was now happily chatting with Harry as if Ron didn’t exist.

Harry looked happier than Ron had seen him in ages.

“Looks like we finally have a clean bill of health!” Harry declared, going to his bed to collect his bag.

“Looks like,” Ron said, giving Hermione a silencing look as she opened her mouth in protest. She shut her mouth with a small click of her teeth and had an expression that plainly conveyed her disapproval. To his relief she schooled her face to a more neutral look by the time Harry got back to them.

Ron felt uncertain as he took his first steps out of the hospital wing. The elation at his newfound freedom was definitely there, but he still felt like a partially unraveled sweater. Normally Ron was outstripping Harry without thinking, but he couldn’t take the long easy strides he normally did and his book bag felt like a lead broom. Harry was back to full health, of course, so there was no gimping around and blaming his ambling pace on his best friend.

It must have meant a lot to have their trio back together, for Harry uncharacteristically clapped his arms around both their shoulders a moment, a beam on his face and a spring in his step. Harry set an excited pace down the hall and just a minute or so into their walk Ron was already feeling winded.

“Harry, could you slow down? I have a few heavy books in my bag,” said Hermione, slowing her pace until she was moving about as slow as Auntie Muriel; just about the right pace for Ron. Harry was practically vibrating having to slow his quick strides down for her, but Ron couldn’t have been happier. He shot her a knowing raise of an eyebrow behind Harry’s back, and a bit of color came to the apples of her cheeks.

Harry kept having trouble keeping a slow pace until Hermione brought up Ginny and Dean’s most recent fight.

“What did they row about?” he asked with much more interest than the topic deserved. Ron had never known Harry to be much of a gossip before, and couldn’t fathom why he cared so much about Ginny and Dean all of a sudden.

A great crash down the hall stopped Hermione from answering. Some little girl had dropped her scales, and was looking at them like they were about to bake her into a pie or something. Hermione quickly tended to the weird little thing, which was just like her. He was quite fond of how she’d tut and fret over the oddest creatures in need. Her compassion was a bit hard to predict at times.

She’d heap it on the likes of an ungrateful wretch like Kreacher, then withhold it from someone like Sirius because he was a bit of a wreck. Most people thought she was just a hard nosed fussbudget— but Ron got to see the little moments where she’d do tender little things for others, genuinely trying to help them— even if she got it dead wrong, and even if they didn’t want their help.

He watched as Hermione’s helpful smile fell. Even her hair looked a bit limper when she’d not managed to help someone. As per usual, Hermione’s help didn’t seem particularly wanted, for the girl didn’t so much as utter a ‘thanks,’ the ungrateful twitchy midget.

“I swear they’re getting smaller,” Ron said, hoping to brace Hermione a bit.

“Never mind her,” Harry groused, giving a dismissive hand wave towards the midget. “What did Ginny and Dean row about, Hermione?”

“Oh, Dean was laughing about McLaggen hitting that Bludger at you.”

“It must’ve looked funny,” said Ron. Honestly with Luna’s commentary it had been. It didn’t sound like something worthy of a full row, but Hermione had other ideas.

“It didn’t look funny at all!”

Ron tried to catch her eye, but she ignored him, hands wringing the same way they had in the hospital wing. Had she been that worried about Ron? He couldn’t rightly recall. His week in the hospital wing was still a blur, but the worry she had for Harry stood out in sharp focus.

“It looked terrible, and if Coote and Peakes hadn’t caught Harry he could have been very badly hurt!”

“Yeah, well, there was no need for Ginny and Dean to split up over it,” said Harry, a weird constipated sort of look on his face. “Or are they still together?”

“Yes, they are — but why are you so interested?”

“I just don’t want my Quidditch team messed up again!” said Harry, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The encroaching interrogation by Hermione was cut off by the sound of Luna Lovegood greeting them. The odd girl floated over and, without preamble, began unloading random garbage from her bag directly into Ron’s hands. Once his hands were nearly full she found a bedraggled message from Dumbledore for Harry. Ron grinned at the dotty teen as she started gathering her toadstool and cat litter back. She was mad, of course, but she was a good sort of girl who was able to cheer him as well as any charm.

“Nice commentary last match!” he told her.

She smiled, but it seemed stiff and unfriendly.

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you? Everyone says I was dreadful.”

He couldn’t help feeling bad for her. It was rather gutsy of her to do the Quidditch commentary, and he honestly had a near riotous time listening to her. She’d probably caught a lot of flack for it, now that he thought of it. The castle was mostly full of arseholes not worth ten Lunas.

“No, I’m serious! I can’t remember enjoying commentary more!” he declared, hoping she’d know he was in earnest, though he doubted he could convince her if she was predisposed to distrust him. She might be dotty, but she could be as stubborn as Hermione.

Not wanting to argue the point, he decided a distraction was better. Showing interest in something she cared about would be an okay route, he reckoned.

“What is this, by the way?” he asked, holding the onion-like object up to eye level.

“Oh, it’s a Gurdyroot,” she said, stuffing the cat litter and the toadstool back into her bag. Her pale eyes popped wide, and her genuine smile came back. “You can keep it if you like, I’ve got a few of them. They’re really excellent for warding off Gulping Plimpies.”

With that she waltzed away, leaving Ron chortling, still clutching the Gurdyroot.

“You know, she’s grown on me, Luna,” he said, as they set off again for the Great Hall. “I know she’s insane, but it’s in a good —”

His voice stopped along with his feet. All the breath left his chest so suddenly he felt a touch of the dizziness Madam Pomphrey had warned him about.

Lavender was standing at the foot of the marble staircase. She looked in high dudgeon, a barely contained fury emitting from her eyes. Her arms were crossed and he almost expected her to send a flock of canaries his way.

“Hi,” he managed to rasp out.

“C’mon,” Harry muttered to Hermione, and they sped past him, leaving him completely alone and at Lavender’s mercy.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were getting out today? And why was she with you?”

He ambled towards her at a glacial pace partly because he felt like crap, and partly because it gave him time to think.

“I didn’t know I’d be getting out.”

“But somehow she knew?”

“Well you know how Hermione is…” he said in a casual way, hoping to deescalate Lavender’s growing ire.

“Yes. I do know how she is. She’s the type of friend who ignores you for months on end.”

Ron felt his jaw clench. He didn’t care if Lavender was right about Hermione ignoring him, he didn’t like Hermione being sneered about like that.

“Why is she sniffing about you so much now?”

“We made up.”

“You made up?” Lavender quietly asked, her face curiously blank.

“Yeah?” he responded, not sure if he should run (limp) away or let out a relieved sigh at how calm she was being. If it were Hermione he’d have a better idea of where he stood. He knew the little twitches of her brows when she was gearing up for a fight, the sharp look of her eye that meant a lecture was coming his way, and had memorized the way her mouth would purse when she was trying very hard to hold back a laugh.

Lavender was a different sort of readable. She never left him in doubt if she was attracted to him, or admired him, but was annoyingly unreadable when she got angry.

Lavender bit her lip in a way she usually did to flirt, but then something in her expression tightened.

“So what? Now that you and Hermione have made up, she’s more important than me?”

Ron swallowed. In his mind Hermione took precedence over just about everyone, but he couldn’t very well tell Lavender that.

“I was worried sick when you were in the hospital wing!” she continued. “The day it happened no one even thought to tell me you were poisoned. And to make it worse they all shuffled Hermione Granger in there immediately, while I had to find out from the rumor mill! People were asking me if I knew the details and I had to just shake my head like an idiot because no one had told me anything! Do you know how embarrassing it was for me?”

“Well, sorry I embarrassed you with my poisoning!” Ron bit back, a small throb of pain lit through his eye sockets. “Must have been really tough not being the one with all the juicy gossip.”

She gasped and looked terribly close to slapping him. “How could you think that I care about that? It’s about Hermione—”

“I was unconscious! I can’t help who they contacted!”

The pain behind his eyes increased.

“Of course not, but the problem was they didn’t think I was important enough in your life to warrant being told!” she scolded him, making him flinch. She wasn’t far off the mark with that. “And when I finally found out and I visited you I didn’t get to be told everything by the nurse, and have all your friends around to figure out what had happened. They all glared at me like I didn’t belong, and treated me like I was stupid for not knowing everything they’d been told bout your condition. You nearly died and were so pale and unconscious all the time and- and… Do you have any idea how frightening it was to be in the dark about you? How scary it was to see you like that?”

She looked close to tears, and for once instead of panic at the sight Ron felt a hearty dose of shame. He hadn’t thought about how his feigning sleep would affect her. He hadn’t thought at all. All he’d wanted to do was maintain peace with Hermione somehow, and maybe have Lavender just lose interest; instead Lavender had ended up being treated like crap.

“Lav… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he sincerely apologized. The throbbing in his head felt more and more like a spike being hammered.

“The thing is, I can’t exactly stay mad at you for it. It’s not your fault you were hopped up on all those potions and asleep…” she said, rather reasonably, before her look hardened. “But you were plenty awake this morning! Where was my notice today? Why did you tell Hermione you were getting out of the hospital wing, but not me?”

“She was visiting Harry!” Ron spluttered. “She was visiting and we were both just cleared this morning, so she joined up with our group.”

“Oh how very convenient! Now that you’re all made up I guess she thinks she can steal you away, is that it?”

“Steal me— What?” Ron asked, truly perplexed.

“I see the way she looks at you, Ron!” she said, throwing her hands up. “She fancies you!”

The idea of Hermione fancying him was thrilling, but so ludicrous, he felt bitter laughter bubbling up almost immediately. His pulse thundered in his ears.

“Hermione… fancy me?”

“Don’t look so excited about it!”

“You’ve got it all wrong,” he said, resigned. He’d seen the way she worried over Harry, the way she wrote Krum, the way she even went on that date with Mclaggen. “We’re just friends. She doesn’t fancy me.”

She snorted at this.

“You don’t know a thing about girls, Ron.”

“And don’t I know it,” he said with a sigh, unsure of what to do with Lavender. It wasn’t fair how he’d avoided her in the hospital wing, and to be honest he had no interest in spending time with her now.

“You—” Lavender’s voice broke. “You don’t fancy her, do you?

Ron swallowed.

“No. I don’t fancy her,” he answered.

It wasn’t a lie. He didn’t fancy Hermione. He all out loved her. It went far beyond mere fancying.

“Look. Lavender, I really like you, but maybe we…” Her eyes went wide. “Let’s…”

Break up!

“Let’s get breakfast,” he lamely finished.

What little energy he had was quickly flagging and the spike in his head felt more like the Whomping Willow had nestled inside his skull.

“And where will we sit?”

“Huh?” he asked with squinted eyes.

“I don’t know if you noticed but your friends have been treating me horribly!”

“How’s that?” The room was slightly lilting to the side.

“Well first there was them not telling me you were in the hospital wing, but even now, they skulked off like I have the plague the moment I came over!”

“Well…” he swallowed, trying to center himself. It felt like he was looking through a dusty pair of omnioculars. “They could see you were angry and probably wanted to give us privacy. Plus you made it pretty clear you were ticked at Hermione. Why would anyone want to stick around for that?”

“Well I’m rather ticked at you- are YOU going to run off too?”

“I dunno, maybe! Lavender, what do you want me to say here?” he said, putting his bag down and sitting on a stair step. The cool stone felt so calming he wanted to put his throbbing head on it. He settled for putting his head in his hands. After a moment of keeping his head down, the room seemed to center itself a bit.

“Look, be mad at me if you need to be,” he mumbled to the floor, eyes closed. “That’s fine. Just... I need breakfast. I have a load of potions I have to take and I have to take them with food or it’ll eat clear through my stomach.”

“What!?” she asked, voice going high.

“Please… volume…” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Won Won,” she said, voice filled with nothing but concern. He glanced up and saw her face was truly etched with worry, scanning him all over. “I didn’t know you were still on potions. Why is Pomphrey letting you out at all if you’re still so weak?”

“I’m not weak!” He protested, weakly standing and wobbling in place a bit. “I just… I’m supposed to avoid being stressed, and this,” he said gesturing between them, “is stressful.”

“Our relationship is stressful?” she asked. He wanted to respond with a resounding ‘yes!’ so it would all be over already. But her eyes looked too mournful and glistening. He couldn’t have her crying on him. He’d just have to eventually convince her he was no good. That couldn’t be hard! He really was a crap boyfriend and had nothing to offer a girl.

“You know me, I’m just a grumpy arse… Let’s… Let’s just get some food…. We can sit wherever you like, just no more fighting, ok?”

“Alright,” she said, looking at him with an unsure gaze. She stood on a step to kiss him, which he was grateful for. He didn’t think he could stay standing if she pulled him down to her height. Her hands began to dart around to his back and he pulled away, slowly untangling her arms from around him. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m gonna faint if I don’t eat soon,” he exaggerated. Yeah he felt a bit wobbly, but not quite near passing out. After the last week he’d had plenty of experience with that sensation. He was just dizzy enough to lose balance.

“Oh! Well then let’s get you plenty of food!” she said, picking up his bag from the ground.

“You don’t have to carry my bag…”

“I do! You look so awfully weak and peakid!”

“Just what every bloke wants to hear,” he groused, following behind her.

As much as he wanted to sit with Harry and Hermione, he knew he had no choice but to sit with Lavender. He finally had Hermione back as a friend, and Lavender was keeping them apart. What if this made Hermione ditch him again? His stomach felt so queasy at the thought he had trouble eating his breakfast.

That and Lavender had her arm entwined around him have to do everything one handed.

He knew he had to end it. He didn’t love Lavender. He loved Hermione. And until he could somehow stop loving her, he couldn’t bring himself to date another girl.

“Are you sure you’re ok, Ron? You’re not talking? Is it because you’re still—” Lavender dropped her voice to a low whisper. “Brain damaged.”

“No!” Ron insisted, looking about to make sure no one over heard. He glanced down the table to see Hermione quietly smiling at him and raising a glass his way. He quirked his brows and gave her a smile back.

“Why are you smiling at her?” Lavender asked, giving Hermione a potent glare.

Ron slowly extricated his arm from her hold. “Look, Lav. We’re friends again. You’re going to have to get used to that.”

Lavender’s jaw clenched and unclenched, but she said nothing else on the matter. It helped that Parvati chose that moment to sit at the table. The two best friends were able to entertain each other with the latest gossip, and Ron gratefully didn’t have to talk the rest of the meal. Both arms free he finished his meal then discreetly chugged one of his potions the moment he was done.

He looked down the table again. For just a moment he caught Hermione looking at him. Her eyes quickly slid away from him and a small smile tugged at her mouth.

That tiny smirk was enough to fuel Ron through the rest of the day.

He needed that fuel. His body was still in a state of lethargy he couldn’t escape, which made him even easier prey for Lavender. She kept seizing his arm so firmly in classes and tense meals he wasn’t sure he’d have full feeling in it again until summer.

That evening he made up his mind he had to end things with her. It wasn’t right to date her when he wasn’t interested and Hermione preoccupied his every thought.

Before breakfast she’d sought him out in the Common Room. He gave a deep sigh, using his hands on his knees to help him rise from the sofa.

“Hey Lav, we need to talk.”

“Okay, let’s do that at breakfast,” she said, putting her arm around his and leaning in to kiss him. He turned his head and her lips grazed the corner of his lips instead.

“No, I think we should do this more privately.”

“I don’t have time to snog, I have to finish a dream journal for Trelawney,” she said, leading him towards the portrait hole.

“I’m not asking to snog! I need to talk to you and—”

“Oh look, there’s Parvati!” Lavender said, giving her friend a wave and taking out her journal with one hand while the other held tight around his elbow. “How did you format the imagery meaning part for your journal? I had everything listed at the top then in the description of the dream detailed out—”

Ron stopped listening, and instead let his body be dragged to the Hall. He couldn’t very well ditch her in front of her best friend and the rest of the school.

It continued like this through the week. He would try to entreat her to talk, she’d just kiss him and bodily drag him places where people were about.

On Thursday evening they were finally alone in the hall. Here was his chance.

“Look Lav, I think it’s best if we take some time—”

“I know,” she said, leaning up and kissing him. Her grip was too tight, and her kiss uncomfortably bruising. “I know I’ve been really busy and unable to prioritize us. Maybe we can have a date soon and take the time we need.”

“No— I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay, Won-Won,” she said, with a tight smile. “I’ve been so stressed with everything. My classes have been so busy and I wasn’t able to do much when you were in the hospital wing I was so upset. I have a lot of makeup work. It’s nice that we can at least be together a bit like this, you know?”

Unable to think of anything to say, she took his silence as an opportunity to give him a much more gentle kiss. He gave up trying to ditch her the rest of the day.

It was miserable.

The rest of the week Ron survived on little smiles from Hermione and his potions Pomphrey kept supplying him with. By the time he’d extricated himself from Lavender for any meaningful amount of time it was the end of the week.

Just past dinner, the whole common room was abuzz.

Harry and Hermione were standing together near the crowd of students.

“What’s going on?” Ron asked Harry, feeling properly wobbly after walking up seven flights of stairs.

“They’ve announced the date for the Apparition test,” Harry said pointing to a sign on the notice board. Most of the students had to elbow past one another to read the sign, but all Ron had to do was stand on his toes.

“Oh no-no-no-no-no,” Ron muttered, hand going to his hair as he counted the days until the April test. There was hardly any time at all. “Oh, this is a disaster!”

“Are you alright?” Hermione asked, standing beside him. She was looking at him and not the sign.

“I’m fine,” he said under his breath, giving her hand a small squeeze. It was so much smaller than his, and rather cold. He knew he should let go of it, but he didn’t want to.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“I’ve missed so many lessons, and I’ve not Apparated properly yet!”

“It shouldn’t be so bad,” Hermione replied soothingly. She let go of his hand to sit on the sofa next to the fireplace.

“Maybe not for you or Harry, but there’s no way I’ll be ready in time!” Ron replied, throwing himself beside her with a defeated thud.

“I can’t take the test whether I’m ready or not,” said Harry.

“At least you can Apparate, though! You’ll have no trouble come July!” said Ron, adding the last bit to boost his friend.

“I’ve only done it once,” he replied with a shrug.

“Well once is better than none. You’ll smash it,” Ron said, putting his head back on the couch.

“Why don’t we forget about Apparition for the time being. You have some work you need to knock out, right?” Hermione asked, little cool hand going to his again.

He closed his eyes, head splitting, and held it fast. “Yeah… Yeah in a moment. I’m just tired.”

Surprisingly Hermione did not push. Instead she talked with Harry about the Defence essay they each had finished days ago, while Ron hadn’t even been there for the lesson explaining it. His friends’ discussion led to a small row about the Half-Blood Prince and that bloody potions book again.

That was motivation enough to pick up his quill and start working on the essay. At least if he was dizzily doing an assignment he could somewhat tune out their arguing.

The assignment was ruthless with so many hoops to jump through that Ron felt like a lion in a circus act. Merlin his brain felt like a ball of wax that had been smashed in saw dust. He had one of Fred and George’s spell-check quills to help, but the task was made even harder when his friends were starting to snarl at each other.

“None of that matters, Hermione! Slughorn’s memory is what’s most important,” Harry barked, eyes scanning the battered book. “So I’m using everything I can to help!”

“I’m telling you, the stupid Prince isn’t going to be able to help you with this, Harry!” said Hermione, more loudly. “There’s only one way to force someone to do what you want, and that’s the Imperius Curse, which is illegal —”

“Yeah, I know that, thanks,” said Harry, not looking up from the book. “That’s why I’m looking for something different. Dumbledore says Veritaserum won’t do it, but there might be something else, a potion or a spell. ...”

Ron stared at his paper. Was it just him, or was everything off? It was probably just him, but it felt like his letters were moving across the page and not spelled right at all? Considering a week ago he couldn’t write his own name, he was doing alright, but… Surely that wasn’t how one spelled belligerent! He was achingly tired and his hands were starting to shake.

“You’re going about it the wrong way,” Hermione badgered Harry. “Only you can get the memory, Dumbledore says. That must mean you can persuade Slughorn where other people can’t. It’s not a question of slipping him a potion, anyone could do that —”

“How d’you spell ‘belligerent’?” Ron interrupted, shaking his quill very hard while staring at his parchment. “It can’t be B — U — M —”

Hermione’s scowl immediately melted, and her brow creased with worry.

“No, it isn’t,” said Hermione, as she pulled his essay toward her. “And ‘augury’ doesn’t begin O — R — G either.”

O — R —- G…. Like orgy? Oh no…

“What kind of quill are you using?” she asked.

“It’s one of Fred and George’s Spell-Check ones … but I think the charm must be wearing off. ...”

“Yes, it must,” said Hermione, pointing at the title of his essay, “because we were asked how we’d deal with dementors, not ‘Dugbogs,’ and I don’t remember you changing your name to ‘Roonil Wazlib’ either.”

“Ah no!” moaned Ron, horror grating his brain to mush. He honestly wanted to cry. His hands were shaking, his head was hurting, and now… “Don’t say I’ll have to write the whole thing out again!”

“It’s okay, we can fix it,” said Hermione in a gentle tone. She took out her wand in a manner that assured him, no matter what, things would be okay.

“I love you, Hermione,” said Ron, sinking back in his chair, and rubbing at his stinging eyes. He’d never been more grateful.

“Don’t let Lavender hear you saying that,” she quietly replied.

“I won’t,” said Ron into his hands, pressing the palms into his eye sockets hoping for some relief. “Or maybe I will ... then she’ll ditch me ...”

“Why don’t you ditch her if you want to finish it?” asked Harry.

Ron let out a mirthless laugh.

“You haven’t ever chucked anyone, have you? You and Cho just —”

“Sort of fell apart, yeah,” said Harry

“Wish that would happen with me and Lavender,” said Ron. If she did maybe he could have the tiniest of shots with Hermione. Despite everything they’d been through, she was by his side again. She silently tapped each of his misspelled words with the end of her wand so that they corrected themselves on the page.

“But the more I hint I want to finish it,” Ron continued, “the tighter she holds on. It’s like going out with the giant squid.”

Harry gave him a look of sympathy but was quickly pulled into feverishly reading the Half-Blood Prince’s notes.

This gave Ron the perfect opportunity to silently watch Hermione. The firelight created a little halo effect as it bounced off her frizzy curls. He wished he could stroke them. He’d gotten to feel her hair a few times— he’d expected it to be coarse given how voluminous it was, but somehow it was soft and bounced back from his pats in a hypnotizing way.

Hermione cricked her neck, but doggedly kept working on correcting the letters of his essay.

Watching Hermione was always fun— like when she pattered around the library carrying too many books, or bending over to lay out her notes on the ground. His favorite was when she was doing anything mildly academic though. She’d squint in concentration with an expression that made her intelligence seem to beam out and smack Ron right in the heart.

Were smarts supposed to be a turn-on? Ron had never heard anyone talk about a girl’s smarts when bragging about a girl. It tended to be more about what happened below the neck— which was confounding. It’s not that Ron didn’t find all of Hermione attractive— he’d had to stop himself from staring at her legs and bum and down her shirt a few times over the years, not to mention imagining all the things those lips and hands could get up to. But the flash of intelligence in her brown eyes? The way she could perform spells and spout off about some obscure little historical factoid no one else found interesting left him wanting to snog her senseless. Of course, he felt the same when she was barmy and knitting caps for elves, so his standards for attraction were obviously skewed toward the strange.

“There,” said Hermione, some twenty minutes later, handing back his essay.

“Thanks a million,” said Ron, having to hold himself back from embracing her in front of Harry. “Can I borrow your quill for the conclusion?”

As she handed the quill over, their fingers brushed sending a little spark to somewhere in his middle. Yup, he was dead gone.

[END OF CHAPTER 6]

AUTHOR’S NOTE Sorry for the long wait, but hopefully you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please let me know by reblogging or commenting! :)

#the wonderful won won #my writing #hp fanfic #ron weasley #romione #lavender brown

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madelineorionswan · 2 years ago

Text

Unrevealed secrets.

Summary: After Madeline solved the mystery of Ben’s disappearance, the whole school was let in shock. Now Madeline must unravel the mystery of the cursed ice and what connections it has with her brother… and the cursed vaults.

Warnings: Mentions of the previous injury, hypothermia.

A/N: I am sorry, you guys for my long absence. A lot of things have happened in life and I've been going crazy. I've been barely finding time to write. But I promise some exciting stuff will be coming soon. For now, enjoy this chapter!

After Madeline and Rowan found out about their friend, Ben’s whereabouts, the news spread like wildfire. Everyone (except some of the professors) seemed to be shocked when they heard about the giant jinxed blocks of ice.

Needless to say, this raised a sudden tension amongst the students of Hogwarts. The cursed ice and Madeline were the hot topics of the day. Everywhere Madeline went the students gave her looks of fear or revulsion. Even Rowan and Penny were judged for being her friends although not as harshly as Madeline.

But fortunately for her, Madeline was made of thicker skin and she went about her day as usual without being bothered about people’s opinions.

On the inside, however, Madeline was worried for her friends’ safety. She had guessed that the dangerous jinxed ice had something to do with the cursed vaults and her brother’s whereabouts. And from what she had seen, the ice would start spreading throughout the school and she knew they would be a target. It was as if the Ice had a mind of its own.

One morning while chatting with Rowan over breakfast at the Great Hall, Madeline heard a sudden commotion at the entrance of the hall. The two girls turned to face the entrance and saw Penny quickly making her way to them.

“Guys, I heard that Ben’s in the hospital wing, apparently none of the Professors are allowing the other students to visit,” said Penny, breathlessly.

Madeline immediately stood up, a look of urgency on her face, saying, “Think there’s a chance they’ll let me in?”

“It is possible, you do know about the situation in detail,” Rowan remarked, whilst rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Penny too nodded in agreement and sat down on the bench beside Rowan.

Madeline nodded affirmatively and said, “right then, I’m going to visit him, see if he remembers anything about how he got himself stuck in the bloody ice.”

“Good luck, tell us if you get any clues,” Penny quipped as Rowan pursed her lips when she heard Madeline swear although she didn’t say anything.

Madeline then quickly left the Great Hall and reached the hospital wing. Usually, she’d known the place to be extra quiet since most of the sick students would be resting and Madam Pomphrey made sure that the place was kept quiet.

But once Madeline reached the entrance to the wing she saw a group of students chitchatting. Madeline cleared her throat to grab their attention and excused herself as she entered the wing. While closing the door she saw them lower their voices and throw weird looks at her, possibly because they were gossiping about her.

Madeline shut the door and let out a breath. This is what her life had been like for the past couple of days, just gossip, gossip and more gossip about her. Sure it had been a little frustrating, but with the support of her friends, Madeline had been getting through.

But once Madeline had entered the hospital wing she immediately put her thoughts aside and approached Madam Pomfrey who was tending to a sick student.

"Ah, Ms. orionswan, come to visit Mr. copper I believe?" the matron asked.

"Is he going to be alright Madam Pomfrey?" Madeline asked, her voice full of concern.

"I believe so. His memory seems to be erratic, but I have seen patients in far worse conditions in my time as matron of Hogwarts," she replied, making Madeline let out a sigh of relief.

"Did he ask for any of us?" she asked.

"Many times, along with some strange proclamations and requests. I believe he is experiencing some delirium," the matron replied, rather solemnly, now fully facing Madeline.

"Is it okay if I... talk to him maybe?" Madeline asked.

Madam Pomfrey let out a sigh, now getting impatient, and said, "I knew you would make this request, but Mr Copper has been through quite the ordeal and is still in a delicate state. What exactly do you want to know from him?"

"I just what know how he's doing... and maybe cheer him up?" Madeline said, trying to seem innocent. And yes she wanted to check up on her friend but also needed to gather any information she could from Ben.

This seemed to convince the matron who let out a sigh and said, "Very well then, he's in the last bed."

Madeline thanked the matron and walked over to the last bed in the wing. A curtain was drawn over the bed, which Madeline carefully moved aside. Madeline saw that Ben was asleep, although his brows were still furrowed with fear.

She sat down on a stool beside his cot as quietly as she could and gently shook his shoulder to wake him up. This seemed to work as Ben flinched a little at the touch and sat up a little, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hey Ben, how're you feeling?" Madeline asked softly.

"Cold. Tired. Sore. Not that different from usual, to be honest," Ben replied, his face forming a pitiful expression. At this, Madeline noticed how pale and cold Ben looked.

"Anything I can do to cheer you up? Maybe a nice snack?" Madeline asked, hoping to cheer up Ben's glum mood.

"Seeing a friendly face is enough. Madam Pomfrey is very helpful, but she doesn't really have the most comforting bedside manner," Ben replied, his lips forming a half-smile.

"If you want, me, penny and Rowan could visit you," Madeline said, smiling a little.

"That would be nice, thanks," Ben said, the tone of his voice getting lighter and his face forming a slightly brighter smile.

Then there was a minute of silence, where Ben took his medicine, while Madeline sat quietly, deep in her thoughts.

"...Did you ask to see me?" Madeline asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Did I? I feel like I'm losing it..." Ben couldn't finish his sentence, getting lost in his thoughts.

"Do you remember what you were doing in the corridor? Or how got trapped in the ice?" Madeline pressed.

"I don't remember. I can't remember anything at all. Madam Pomfrey says it's got something to do with the ice..." Ben drifted off.

I found a black quill in the Slytherin common room," Madeline said lowering her voice, "it mentioned something about severe punishment and directed me and Ro towards the corridor. Do you have any idea who might have written it?"

The mention of "severe punishment" frightened Ben but he shook his head in denial of any information, "I'm sorry Madeline. I just don't remember,"

"You must remember something. Anything that can help us understand what exactly happened to you in that corridor,"

Just as Madeline was about to ask another question, she felt someone place a firm hand on her shoulder. Madeline looked up and saw Madam Pomfrey look strictly at her.

"Now, I think that's quite enough for today. Mr copper needs his rest," Madam Pomfrey said firmly.

"But-" Madeline was about to protest but she noticed the tired expression on Ben's face and one strict glare from madam Pomfrey was enough to make her decide against it.

"We'll visit again soon. Ok, Ben?" Madeline smiled, patting Ben's shoulder who smiled weakly before pulling the covers up to his chin.

While walking out of the hospital wing, Madeline's brows were furrowed with concentration as thoughts raced through her mind. If Ben doesn't remember anything from his encounters, there's only one person who might be able to help her with it. Madeline proceeded to run to the Gryffindor common room having a particular person in mind.

---

"Okay, what are we doing here Madie?" Rowan asked, shuddering in the cold.

After Madeline had left the hospital wing she ran to the great hall grabbed a turkey sandwich and then rushed to the Gryffindor Common room. It didn't take her long to spot Rowan and she grabbed the bespeckled girl's hand, excusing themselves, not paying mind to Rowan's protests, before heading off to the forbidden corridor.

"When I asked Ben if he remembered anything from the cursed ice incident he acted really weird and said he didn't remember anything. So I thought that we should investigate the area," Madeline said, her eyes searching through the blocks of ice in the dark corridor.

Rowan Furrowed her brows with doubt. But searched the corridor with Madeline. madeline however noticed her friend's doubtful expression.

"Is everything alright?" Madeline asked Rowan.

"I don't know how to say this Madeline... but I feel like Ben is lying," Rowan said, her expression relaying that she was in thought.

"What do you mean?" Madeline quirked a brow in confusion.

"I've always felt like he knew more than he was telling. Like he was keeping secrets. e might just be afraid of whoever sent those instructions or just attempting to protect us," She said, frowning.

Madeline frowned, stopping her search, getting immersed in thought.

"You do have a point," Madeline muttered, still in thought, "I suppose that might explain his behaviour and why he's so nervous all the time and sneaking off alone..."

Madeline let out a frustrated groan, and dropped onto the dusty floor, "Sometimes I don't know what to believe."

"Hey, I just gave you a recommendation, it might not be the answer you know," Rowan said, standing beside Madeline.

"You're right," Madeline sighed getting up, "I'm overreacting."

"Let's just search this corridor, and do some research later," Rowan said.

"Yeah, there has to be a reason why Ben's acting the way he is," Madeline said, but while searching she stopped abruptly in front of the wall whilst Rowan continued to search.

Madeline's eyes started to change colours ever so slightly. She sensed magic. Strong Magic somewhere behind the wall.

"Hey, Ro, could you come over here," Madeline called as she put her ear on the wall, trying to find any trace of a sound... or maybe a presence.

Rowan walked over to Madeline and studied the wall carefully, squinting her eyes and rubbing her chin with her index finger. Her eyes widened when she too heard a sound.

"Whoa, I think I hear something too..."

"I think there might a passage or something behind this wall," Madeline articulated.

"Could be. Anything is possible at Hogwarts. Who knows what secrets walls like these have," Rowan commented looking up the wall.

"Question is, how do we know what's behind the wall," Madeline muttered mostly to herself, as she placed a hand on the wall.

"The only way we can find out is by using Revelio," Rowan answered.

"Revelio?"

"It's a spell which reveals concealed object and reveals its true appearance. It's a pretty advanced spell," Rowan said matter-of-factly.

"Then we should start learning it straight away. 'Think McGonagall, might teach us the spell," Madeline asked, half-joking.

"I might be able to convince her," Rowan smiled. The girls let out a light laugh before walking out of the corridor. It was safe to say that they were glad to leave the cold and dark corridor at the earliest.

They bolted down the stairs and ran through the halls, Madeline pushing aside anyone in their way, while Rowan occasionally apologised to every other grumpy student.

Finally, they made it to the east end of the lower floor, and subsequently to the transfiguration classroom. Placing her hand on the wall to support herself Madeline panted as Rowan too huffed for air and fixed her glasses.

"Ah Ms Khanna and Ms Orionswan, it seems that you both are in quite a rush," the girls entered the classroom and were approached by Professor McGonagall.

The geriatric professor then turned to Madeline and stated, "And Ms Orionswan, I understand that you visited Mr Copper."

"Although you didn't discover his whereabouts, you both should be rewarded for your dedicated search and the concern you've shown him. Twenty points to Gryffindor.

At this Rowan frowned and was about to protest, but Madeline quickly nudged her friend with her elbow and feigned a smile.

"Thank you, Professor. But I actually wanted to ask you about something else," Madeline interrupted.

"What can I help you with, Ms Orionswan?"

"Well, Professor, we were hoping that you could teach us this advanced spell, we both were curious about."

"What spell might that be?", Professor McGonagall frowned a little.

"The Revelio Charm, professor", Rowan quipped and Madeline nodded in agreement.

"I believe that I informed you, that you would receive an owl when you are to have your private lessons," she said.

"But professor we really need to learn that spell today," Madeline pleaded.

"Why?" Professor McGonagall questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"Uhm..." the two girls shared a look between themselves for a split second before Rowan stepped forward and said, "You see professor, we were doing some extra research about the homework you gave last week and we came across this spell and there's this part of the text that we both cant understand because it's related to the spell, so... we were hoping you could teach us the spell."

"Flattery will get you two nowhere. You both aren't ready to learn an advanced spell as Revelio," Professor McGonagall instructed.

"Please professor. We wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important. I'll do anything," Madeline tried to appeal.

Sighing, Professor McGonagall got up from her chair and moved to stand in front of the girls.

"I will teach you Revelio when you have proven yourself worthy. I would typically have you attend many classes in preparation. Still, since you both accepted my offer of a private class, this will be much easier", She stated, " You will receive an owl when I've determined that you are ready to learn Revelio."

"Thank you professor", Rowan and Madeline said together. Professor McGonagall smiled and walked away.

After an awkward moment of silence, the girls walked back to the Gryffindor common room, Rowan already having ideas about what Madeline should do to impress Professor McGonagall.

And that started with finishing her homework at the earliest.

---

Over the next few days, Madeline and Rowan spent their entire time studying. Madeline didn't enjoy keeping her nose buried in her textbooks, but she would agree that Rowan made it much more enjoyable.

It was obvious to the girls that they were being watched by Professor McGonagall during her classes. They both noticed that when she asked a question, she almost always looked expectantly at them to answer. Every time they would be writing notes, the girls would feel the elderly professor's presence when she would be looming over them.

Finally, one morning while Madeline and Rowan were having breakfast, an owl flew above the Gryffindor table before dramatically flapping its wings and landing on the plate of waffles on the table.

"You do know people were meant to eat that," Madeline said to the bird, pursing her lips.

Rowan shook her head dismissively and took the letter from the owl's book. The bird ruffled its feathers and flew off.

"Do you think it's from professor McGonagall?" Madeline asked, studying the envelope from her side of the table.

"Could be. Only one way to find out," Rowan tore open the seal gently before removing the letter from the envelope and skimming through it.

"It's from McGonagall alright, she wants to see us, at her classroom after our classes."

"That long after?! God, it's going to feel like an eternity," Madeline groaned.

"Hey cheer up. At least we won't miss professor Flitwick's test on the standards of duelling postures," Rowan said, enthusiastically.

"You are probably the only one who's excited about it," Madeline chuckled. The girls stood up from their seats at the table and picked up their plates to get some more food. After finishing, they headed of to their day's classes.

---

The classes dragged on for what seemed like an eternity to Madeline and surprisingly, even for Rowan towards the end. After they were dismissed from classes they quickly headed to dinner and stuffed their faces as quickly as they could before they scampered downstairs to the Transfigurations classroom.

"Ah, Ms Khanna, Ms Orionswan," Professor Mcgongal greeted as she approached the two girls, towering over them.

"I have been very impressed with both your work ethics recently, not only in transfiguration but also for other subjects."

"Thank you, professor," Rowan smiled thankfully.

"Do you think we can learn Revelio now professor?" Madeline asked, hopefully.

"As much as I detest this endeavour, I do believe you two are ready to perform the spell," Professor McGonagall said, pursing her lips ", Take a seat."

Madeline and Rowan shared an exciting look between themselves and quickly took a seat in front of Professor McGonagall. The professor nodded and took out her wand.

"Pay close attention, if you want to learn girls. I will now demonstrate the charm."

The girls concentrated on professor Mcgongal's wand, as she swished it, in an aloof manner. Slowly, white sparkles started being produced from the tip of her wand. The sparkles started to get brighter with a pale yellow mist floating around the black cauldron placed on her desk. Within seconds, the cauldron transformed into a white tabby cat.

"Well, that is all that is there is for the basics of this spell," professor Mcgongal said, stepping back a little as Rowan quickly stood up, to get a better look at the transfigured cat.

"You may attempt to cast the Revelio spell, Ms Orionswan," McGonagall said.

"Alright professor," she said, taking out her wand. Carefully, she waved her wand and muttered the incantation.

And just as Professor McGonagall had done, she transformed the cat into the cauldron.

"Well done Ms orionswan," Professor McGonagall praised ", Now you Ms Khanna."

Rowan performed the spell and turned the cauldron back into the cat, at which point it immediately jumped off the table and growled at Rowan and Madeline.

"Now I trust you both will find this spell helpful. It can reveal, secret messages and passageways," Professor McGonagall said solemnly.

"Thank you again, professor," Madeline said. the two girls then left the classroom, after a couple more pointers from professor McGonagall about the spell.

Once they were out of the classroom and in a secluded hallway, Madeline turned to Rowan, "Let's head to the hallway tonight."

"We'll need to make sure no one can see us leave," Rowan warned.

"Oh don't worry, I'm pretty sure that the entire student population today is going to have a pretty sleepy day," Madeline smirked and Rowan knew from her friend's facial expression, that she already had something brewing in her head.

---

Madeline was right to say that all the students would be pretty sleepy. Rowan remembered that it was a Friday night and a long week had surpassed the students and teachers, which had clearly, exhausted everyone. Not only that, the house elves had made quite the lovely turkey dinner which everyone generously indulged themselves in.

By 10:00pm at night, the entire Gryffindor common room was deep in slumber, giving the girls the perfect opportunity to sneak away early.

"You ready?" Madeline asked Rowan, pulling on the hood of her uniform, to conceal her face a little.

"Yeah, let's find that secret passageway," Rowan said, inhaling deeply and confidently.

Tiptoeing among the shadows the girls concealed themselves from the few passing people. Ultimately, they made it into the corridor. Making sure that no one was nearby, Madeline, carefully shut the door.

"Alright, now I have a few suggestions as to how we can attempt to reveal the passage," Rowan said, taking out a notepad, "Now we could magnify the spell somehow or you could use this really cool punnet square which can help to hit the correct area of the wall to efficiently cast the spell, or we could-"

"Or we could just cast the spell together," Madeline interrupted, grinning at Rowan before she continued to ramble, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Let's get to finding those vaults now," Madeline frowned, turning to face the wall as she whipped out her wand.

"Just be careful, Madie. We have no idea what might appear when you cast the spell," Rowan precautioned.

"Right, let's cast the spell before it gets too late."

The girls drew their wands from their wand pockets. They then carefully, waved them around the wall. Sparkles started to be produced from the tips as slowly the wall started to turn transparent, revealing a swampy green hue from behind it.

"Merlin's beard, Madie! You just unvanished a secret staircase!" Rowan exclaimed, jaw-dropping as the girls found a staircase, behind the wall.

"Merlin's Beard undoubtedly. It's the same one I saw in my vision," Madeline muttered under her breath, frowning.

"And most likely the staircase from the message we found carved in the caused ice," Rowan speculated, "Where do you think it leads?"

"Wherever it leads we're headed up these stairs. Common'" Madeline beckoned to Rowan as she jogged up the chairs. Rowan, though somewhat nervous, decided to shrug off her doubts and follow Madeline up the stairs.

On top of the stairs, the girls found a dark hall, with a couple fireplaces, emitting the same swampy green fire. They were amazed and at the same time intrigued by the mysterious hallway.

"This place is so cool! We just discovered an undiscovered part of Hogwarts!" Rowan said with amazement.

"Yeah," Madeline agreed, staring up at the intricate carvings on the ceilings. although it was covered in cobwebs, the carvings could be seen clearly enough. But Madeline couldn't observe them for too long.

Within minutes of them finding the hallway, the girls felt themselves shivering at the sudden drop in the temperature. The temperature dropped at a drastic speed as the girls hugged their cloaks closer to their bodies, their teeth chattering.

"Why d-d-d-d-di-i-id i-i-i-i-i-t g-g-g-et s-s-s-s-s-so c-c-c-c-co-ld all o-o-o-of a s-s-s--s-suden?" Madeline asked Rowan, her teeth chattering.

"Un-na-na-na-naturally c-c-c-c-cold," Rowan remarked, tugging her cloak sleeves closer.

Suddenly, Madeline had a strange sensation. She felt her eyes start to burn up, a murderous red colour starting to form in her irises. The strange gut feeling she had, as if something was close, grew.

"I have a feeling that one of the vaults could be here. My brother could be close."

"Alright. Let's hurry and see what we find. And maybe come back later with a warm coat in hand..."

Walking down the hall, the girls kept their eyes and ears open for any clue, which could lead them to something.

"Wait, Ro, look...", Madeline crouched down beside what resembled a track of muddy footprints, "someone else must've been here before."

"But who? How and Why?" Rowan muttered, mostly to herself as she observed the footprints.

"Let's follow them and see where they lead," Madeline quickly got to her feet, and the two girls followed the footprints down the hall like before. The further they followed the footprints, the further it seemed to get colder and colder. Eventually, there were chunks of ice visible in the nooks and crannies behind the fireplaces. Madeline's head started to throb painfully, but she decided to ignore it.

Once the footprints came to an end the girls looked up and saw the and of the hall. But it wasn't just any other dead end. No... there was a wall of stormy blue mist swirling at the end of the hall. It was impossibly cold, almost as if at any moment they would freeze into ice statues.

"It's some kind of mist..."

"It's freezing cold Madie! I don't think we can pass through it," Rowan said, shivering.

"You're right. We can try and use Flipendo to get rid of the mist?" Madeline questioned Rowan.

"Try it. It just might do the trick!"

Madeline cast the spell with full force. It took only a couple seconds before the mist disappeared. But what was revealed as the mist parted really amazed the girls for what seemed the millionth time.

"Ro... are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Madeline asked Rowan, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Yeah, I am." Rowan let out a breath.

The hall finally came to an end and in front of them stood a giant gate. But this wasn't just any other gate. This part of the hall and the gate were covered in ice. Small shards of ice were scattered through the floor, making soft crunching noises as the girls walked over them.

There were also, giant icicles hanging from the ceiling, and Madeline and Rowan knew that if either were hit by those, they would be stuck in the hospital wing for a long time.

A giant snowflake Ice-sculpture guarded the gate in front of them. The girls walked up a small flight of stairs and stood in front of the gate.

"This must be a cursed vault..."

"What should we do?" Rowan asked, looking at Madeline.

"Let's try and see if we can open the door."

Madeline walked in front of the giant gate. She held onto a part of the snowflake and tried to push it to see if it would turn. She let out a grunt as she noticed the ice sculpture would not budge.

Suddenly, the snowflake started to glow as Madeline placed her hand once again on it. Feeling a sudden rush of magic and pain through her body, Madeline was thrown back as she let out an ear-piercing, painful scream as she crumpled to her knees. She gripped her head in her hands as pain seared through her head. She felt as if she was her head was being racked apart with the pain.

"Madeline! Are you alright?!" Rowan rushed to her friend's side, crouching down beside her.

"I- I saw something. A v-vision," Madeline said weakly her head still reeling from the pain.

"Can you tell me whether you saw anything in there?" Rowan asked, helping Madeline up.

"Two rooms. one dark filled with stacks of books and the other one was cluttered with a door outlined in chalk..." Madeline said.

Rowan nodded, keeping a mental note about the descriptions of the rooms. Abruptly she let out a small gasp as Madeline looked to face her. Rowan saw Madeline's eyes had turned to a horrifying red colour which looked to be much worse than the last time she saw them like this.

"What?" Madeline asked, puzzled.

Rowan was about to reply when a burst of blue magic hit her and she was hurled down the flight of stairs.

"Rowan!" Madeline exclaimed, jumping to her feet to which almost immediately she fell back on her knees again.

Madeline clenched her teeth as she got up again, judging another burst of Magic from the enchanted door, vaulting down the stairs to her friend. She shook rowan's shoulder but to no avail as Rowan remained unconscious.

"No no no, Ro wake up!" Madeline almost pleaded as she shook her friend once again. This thankfully seemed to do the trick as Rowan's eyes fluttered open slightly. But she was in no state to get up So Madeline waited a couple minutes for Rowan to gather her strength, before helping her out of the hall and eventually to the warm safety of the hospital wing's beds.

#madeline orionswan #hogwarts mystery #harry potter #hphm mc #wizarding world #fanfiction #hp fanfic #hphm au #hogwarts #rowan khanna #penny haywood #ben copper #year 2

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